Lost Boys
by athousandsuns101
Summary: Fourteen year old Callie Scott wants to get emancipated from foster care, but there's one problem, she needs the signature of her birth mother; Jennifer Jareau. Life can be complicated and loving, especially in this family.
1. Can't Go Back Now

AU: This is based on Life Unexpected, but not. I've changed the name and story a lot. First of all, JJ never told the team about the baby because she was told her baby was a stillborn and that hurt her. She joined the FBI Academy a year later. Her parents and brother knew, but know that they can't talk about it. This takes place when JJ is back from maternity leave in season 11. Italics are character's thoughts.

Disclaimer: Okay, so right now some of the characters may seem a bit OOC now but how would you react if a kid showed up on your doorstep demanding you sign an emancipation paper? But, you were under the same belief that your baby had died.

* * *

Chapter 1

* * *

The walk from bus station to the address took longer than Callie thought. From how it looked on the Google Maps app it didn't seem that far. But, Callie isn't complaining. Walking helps her think. Besides Callie doesn't have enough dough for a taxi ride. She doesn't even have enough for half a taxi ride.

Her hands are trembling. The slip of paper with her biological mother's name is scrawled on the sticky note she swiped from her case worker's desk. It only took a few clicks for Callie to figure out where Jennifer Jareau lived and now the woman's address is written neatly beneath the name. Of course, she was stunned to discover Jennifer only lives a bus ride from her current foster home. _Okay,_ Callie nods as she turns the corner. _All I have to do is have her sign it and I'm free._

She frowns. The houses or rather townhomes are nice, most have front yards that appear too apple pie sweet. Anger surges inside of Callie. A part of her had been hoping Jennifer was a drug-addict like Ben's mom was. It would've been easier to believe her mom couldn't take care of her because of an addiction, not because she never wanted her. _Then again,_ Callie thought. _Jennifer gave me up and probably never knew what happened after. If I should blame anyone it should be the Scott's for giving me back._

It's just a bit weird is all…what kid wants to think their mom never wanted them? If she had been an addict then Callie could tell herself she wasn't physically able to care for her. And that she gave her up to give her, her best chance.

But, this neighborhood doesn't match up to her preconceived childish belief. Jennifer's house is suddenly in front of her looking just as modest as the others and for once Callie starts to feel her knees quiver.

 _You've got this. Just get the fucking signature and leave._ Callie sighs as she unhooks the gate and walks up the path. _It'll take five minutes…maybe not even five. All I need is her signature and I'm all good. Everything will be good. Of course, I'll have to stay with Ben for a while, but once I get the money together; I'll be okay._ Anyway, Ben's aunts love her; they won't mind someone crashing on the couch.

With that in mind, Callie goes to the front door knocking a few times. The sound of someone unlocking the door from the other side causes Callie to take a step back and straighten her posture. The teenager forces out a grin as a man with wavy brown hair swings it open.

"Can I help yah?" The guy asked in his southern drawl. He has a baby in his arms and a boy with short blonde hair behind him, the kid's confused face matching his dad's.

"Uh…ah," Callie chokes on her words. "I must have the wrong house." She mumbled taking a step back almost tripping off the porch, but the man manages to grab her hand and maneuver the baby to keep her from falling.

After seeing fear in her eyes, Will releases the hand. "Who're yah looking for? I'm friends with all of our neighbors. Maybe I can help yah. Buddy, go put Mike in his bouncy and set up the X-Box for us to play. I'll be there in a minute." He carefully hands the six month old to his eldest watching his son walk away before taking a step outside. Henry is mindful not to go too fast even though he's happy he gets to play video games more than once today; mommy and daddy usually only let him play once for an hour.

Callie studies his face noticing hints of concern etching its way onto his features. She can tell he thinks she's weird. "Sorry…you don't know Jennifer Jareau do you?"

He raises his eyebrows. "Ah, well I'd like to think I do."

 _Awesome, since this dude knows Jennifer then he'll be able to help me find her._

"I'm Will, JJ's my wife."

Callie chuckles. Of fucking course he is. "Fucking seriously?" And she just bets those boys in there are their sons which means that genetically they're her brothers, half-brothers. The teenager tries not to let react too much by this news.

"JJ's not here. Is there something I can help yah with?" He questioned frowning.

"Um, well no. I just – I need to talk…do you know what time she'll be back?" Callie asked her cheeks burning in embarrassment, but tries to keep cool.

"Soon, I think. I'm hoping she'll be back around six or so."

Callie looks down at her watch; it's five-thirty now. Waiting half an hour wouldn't kill her; she's waited the last fourteen years for this. The least she can do is, wait another thirty minutes. But, it still bothers her. She'd hoped this would be over by now.

"Lookit," Will recognizes the flood of worry and anxiousness in her eyes. "If it's somethin' real important then I can see about getting her to come home early." He offered.

"No, don't. It's not a big deal." Callie lied shaking her head. A part of the teen is scared to face her mother. Here, she is with this new life; a husband, even two little boys. Callie bets they have a dog too. Their lives seem too grossly sweet. "I'll just wait for her." She nods.

Will cracks an even bigger grin. "You're gonna wait for her in 98 degree weather? And it ain't important?" He asked folding his arms over his chest, amused. There's something about this kid. "I'm not just gonna let yah fry out here. Come on inside."

"I'm good out here, but thanks." She said. It isn't that she thinks Jennifer's husband is a creepy or anything – Callie just doesn't want to let herself get to know them. "I'll sit on the step…so I'm not in the sun so much."

"I ain't gonna hurt you, yah know?" Will stares at the girl oddly.

"I know."

"It just wouldn't be right leavin' yah outside to burn. No offence kid, but you look like you'd fry in a blizzard, anyway JJ would kill me if she came home and saw you sittin' here in ninety degree weather. Really, you'd be saving me from a night on the couch." The cop takes a step back inside and holds the door open a bit more.

Callie awkwardly and hesitantly follows him in. She shudders slightly at the cool air they have on and shuts the door behind her.

"Have a seat wherever." He leads her into the living room where Henry is playing his game and baby Michael is in his bouncy. Will plops down beside his son raising his eyebrows at him who, based on the chocolate stained face, snuck a few cookies. "There somethin' yah wanna tell me, bud?" The father asked as he gestures for Callie to sit. "Sit, sit. Did yah walk from the stop? If yah did yah must be dog-tired." Callie sits and is surprised to find, that he's right; she is tired. But, not from walking; it's from discovering her mother had a whole life after she gave her up. Callie would be angry, but she doesn't really have the energy for that anymore; so she's sticking with plain sarcastic exhaustion. It works for her.

"Who's she, daddy?" Henry points avoiding his dad's question, Callie looks down. The boy seems cute and she can see familial similarities; their eyes are a similar color, only hers are bluer, but their hair is the same. She can't really tell with the baby yet.

Will takes his son's hand gently. "Pointing isn't polite, 'specially at ladies." His reprimand has Henry curling his hand into a fist while his father to ruffle his hair.

"I'm Callie Scott, kid." Callie said instantly regretting her decision to tell him her name.

Henry cocks his head to the side. "I'm Henry William LaMontange, why do you call me kid? You're a kid." He giggled making Callie to half-smile. He really does seem sweet. Henry's eyes light up as an idea pops into his head. "We should have cookies with her…cause she's a lady, daddy." Will rolls his eyes and glances at Callie who's grinning. He frowns knowing he's seen that smile before. "And it wouldn't be nice if we treated a lady bad. Mommy wouldn't like it." At the word 'mommy' Callie flinches and feels her breath catch. The grin gets ripped off her face. This doesn't go unnoticed by Will.

"Well, what do you say, Miss. Callie?" Will turns to the deflated teen. "You want a cookie?"

"I'm ah…I'm not really hungry." Callie said doing her best to ignore the boy's disheartened grimace.

The seven year old harrumphs; he didn't care if she was hungry or not, all he wanted was another cookie. Will nudges his son's leg, giving him the look. Henry huffs glancing back at his game deciding not to push his luck. But, he really wanted another cookie. Will starts texting JJ practically pleading with her to come home as soon as she can.

Callie knows that's a lie. She is hungry. She would love a cookie right now, but she doesn't want to accept anything from them except Jennifer's signature. And she sure as shit isn't going to ask for anything either. People think when you do that means you owe them. No, Callie refuses to ask Jennifer's husband for jack.

* * *

Today is one of those slow days that JJ wishes she called in sick. It is nice to be working with the team again and Tara seems great, she just misses her little men. And paperwork sucks. She is pleased for the welcome distraction when her phone buzzes rapidly, her brow furrows as she reads Will's messages. JJ quickly responds to him telling him to find out as much as he possibly can without scaring the kid off.

After ignoring her work for a while longer, JJ earns Reid's attention. "What's going on?"

"Uh, some girl showed up at the house and Will's freaking out." JJ explained frowning worriedly. She knows from experience that not all kids are trustworthy.

Derek interjected. "What does he know?"

"Nothing, she came looking for me and won't say much. Her name's Callie Scott." JJ stated causing Derek to send a text to his sugar momma requesting she look into the name. There could be a hit somewhere. Garcia responds instantly promising she'll find out what she can and hit back later. She also wants to know what's going on, but will get answers after.

"How old is she?" Reid questioned wracking his mind around statistics pertaining to teens.

"She didn't say," JJ looks down. "Will thinks at the most fourteen, she's short." Based on his messages Will doesn't seem scared of the girl, but he sure is confused as hell.

Tara purses her lips together. "So he doesn't think she's dangerous."

"No but, why would some twelve year old come looking for me?" JJ questioned more to herself than to her team who share a look with one another.

"Last time a kid came looking for me I became a dad." Rossi teased earning a bullpen full of chuckles. There's no way this kid could have anything to do with JJ like that. Reid has to admit the thought of being a parent intrigues him…he sort of envisioned a future like that with Maeve. She would have been a remarkable mother.

JJ nods, her face showing microscopic hints of worry. "I know she's not dangerous or anything. Will would never risk the boys like that. I just want to know what she wants."

Having heard most of the conversation; Hotch steps forward, clearing his throat. "JJ, go home and handle whatever is going on. Get back to us as soon as you can." He said as JJ gathers her things and leaves causing the others to murmur their own worries. Garcia gets back to them saying Callie Scott is a foster kid and on Facebook; she remarks how the girl is interested in good music. Other than that, she doesn't have much on her page. She's been a war of the state for almost fifteen years having been left at a hospital by a Mackenzie and Phillip Scott.

* * *

After half an hour of watching Henry build several Lego contraptions virtually, Will sends his son off to start homework and excuses himself to put Michael to bed. And call JJ too. Being a cop and knowing not everything is as it seems, he secretly checks the teen over for any visible signs of a weapon. JJ is at a loss too. With her not being here to assess the situation and ask this girl what it is she wants; they have nothing to do, but wait. He gently pulls the covers up; surprised and happy Michael is going down without a fight. Henry, on the other hand, seems content with doing everything but his homework. They'll have to talk about that later, right now, he has to get back to the girl in the living room.

"So how do you know my wife, if yah don't mind me askin?" Will asked walking over to her and sitting down on the other end of the couch. He doesn't want to frighten the kid by sitting too close to her.

"Oh, I don't really know her, know her." Callie said her brow furrowing as Will frowns she looks a bit like Henry when he's trying to decide something. "I've never even met her. Well, I guess maybe I did once, I'm not too sure. You'd have to ask her that." _And now I'm babbling like an idiot. Shut up, shut up, shut up!_

The Southerner nods that made no sense, but women are a mystery to him. "Ah, if you've never met JJ then why are yah here?"

"I need her signature."

"Her signature?"

"Uh-huh, at least I think it's hers I need." The teen murmured more to herself. She glances at the man who's giving her a confused squint. "It's sorta complicated. I'd rather talk to Jennifer about it."

Will swallows hard trying not to go 'cop' on the kid. "I'll just be right back then. You want some lemonade? Great, I'll get it." He said getting up and leaving, without giving Callie a chance to reply. She shrugs. Will doesn't know what the hell is going on. But, he does know he couldn't leave the kid waiting outside. It may be October, but damn does Virginia get balmy sometimes.

Upon entering the kitchen, Will looks over his shoulder before phoning JJ. He doesn't have to wait long for his wife to answer. "Did you figure out what's going on?" She asked.

"No, she's bein' tight-lipped about it." Will sighed. "When are you due to be home?" He looks into the living room, its damn good thing there's a door blocking the path.

JJ promised. "Within the hour, I'm stuck in traffic." She taps her fingers against the steering wheel impatiently wishing she could be there. "How old is this kid, Will? Did she say?"

"Maybe fourteen, she's got blonde hair and blue eyes…small too." Will rattles off details in the cop fashion they've both adopted from their everyday lives.

"How does she seem?" And in comes Agent Jareau. "Is she dangerous?" The profiler in JJ is curious and doesn't say it to intentionally insult her husband. And Will knows that's the case, but he can't resist teasing her.

"You think I'd let someone dangerous into our home and near our sons, Cher?" Her husband questioned insulted and he would be, if he didn't find his wife's exasperation hilarious. Then again, he figures whoever this girl is that she must know JJ from somewhere.

"No, of course not. I didn't mean it like that." JJ protested immediately; it's been a long day, starting with mindless paperwork and then Will texted saying a strange girl was at the house asking for her. She's just confused is all. "I just mean…"

Will cuts her off. "I know whatcha mean. Lookit, she just showed up outa the blue looking for you, callin' yah Jennifer." His words leave them both wondering who this girl is. Anyone who knows his wife knows to only call her JJ. Well, unless they're dealing with folks she doesn't like. "But, she also said Jareau so she must know yah from somewhere."

"Huh," The profiler thinks for a moment drawing blanks. "Did she say what she wanted?"

"Just that it wasn't important." Will sighed.

"But, you think it is." She finished reading her husband's mind.

He nods. "Yeah, I do. She needs your signature for something, Cher."

"Why would she need my signature?" JJ wondered. "I'll be home as soon as I can." The blonde perks up as the cars get moving. "Love you." She grips onto the steering wheel. If Will thinks it's important, it must be. JJ figures whoever this kid is, they'll figure it out.

"Love you too, Cher."

Callie tries to keep from tapping her feet in anticipation. She can do this. _Why the hell am I so freaking nervous?_ It's just a damn signature; nothing more. No, she's not going to get stuck on the fact that Jennifer had other kids – that she kept – after she was born. The boy looks maybe seven which is half her age, but it stings to know her mom wanted the babies after her. The teen looks up as Will walks back into the living room. He forgot the lemonade so that let's Callie know he just wanted an excuse to most likely call Jennifer. He nods curtly. And at seeing his nervous face, Callie feels a little bit bad.

"Uh," after some fidgeting Callie sighs. "Can I use your bathroom?" She asked causing Will to gladly point out the way. The silence was getting to him. He's no kid-whisperer, but he likes to think he's decent around them but she's one tough nut to crack. "Thanks."

She only feels slightly bad about lying. She doesn't really have to go, but it was feeling a little too freaking awkward for her. The teen leans against the sink looking at herself in the mirror, frowning. Her hair looks damp and wild. The damp is from the heat and the wild part though, that's on her. She has blonde curls, some days they're in a good mood, but most days they rebel into blonde frizzes. Callie splashes some water on her face trying to muster up the courage. _It's now or wait four more shitty years._ No Callie has to just rip the bandage off. She jumps at the sound of their front door bursting open.

"So where is she?" JJ demanded nervously. "Where's the girl?" She looks around for the kid that has her husband jumbled and concerned. Hell, she's nervous too. First some girl shows up out of the blue demanding to see her and waits with her family for almost two hours; this kid must really be desperate.

"She's ah in the bathroom." Will affirmed.

JJ asked. "Did you figure out what she wants?"

Callie guesses now is as good a time as any and struts out of the bathroom. Both adults turn to gaze at the fourteen year old who studies Jennifer. "No, I ah wanted to talk to you cause it doesn't have to do with him." JJ frowns not sure what this kid wants. "I'm Callie Scott and I need my biological mother's signature," she takes a crumpled sheet of paper from her back pocket, flattening it out. "Since that's you." Callie is too busy fidgeting to notice the twin looks of shock on their faces. "You hafta sign this so I can get emancipated."


	2. Catch My Breath

Thank you for all the reviews, favorites and follows! I hope you like it. Callie Scott is my OC and so is anyone else you don't see regularly like Ben or Diana Grey. I know Callie being almost fifteen and trying to get emancipated doesn't make sense.

* * *

Chapter 2

* * *

"Excuse me?" The older blonde feels her breath catch. Of all the possible theories she had on her drive home, this wasn't one of them. She glances sideways at her husband who seems just as confused if not more so. Will catches her staring and the duo silently communicate; a skill they've mastered through years of practice.

Callie rolls her eyes, annoyed. "You've gotta sign this so I can get emancipated."

The sound of Michael crying erupts into the room. Will looks at JJ who nods letting him know she can deal with this crazy girl and he can take their son. "Yah know I think I'm gonna let you handle this, Cher." He clears his throat nodding politely at the teenager.

"Look," JJ waits until he's left the room before turning to the younger blonde. "I'm sorry sweetie, I think you're mistaken. I don't have a daughter." I almost did. Most days, it hurts too much to think about what happened to her firstborn and the miscarriage overseas. But, it was different unlike with a miscarriage; she imagined what could've been.

"So you didn't have a kid on June 4th in 2001 at St. Mary's Hospital with a one-night stand?" Callie is pissed off. She's been waiting and now Jennifer won't admit it. "My dad's name was never on the birth certificate so I'm just guessing here."

JJ's mouth twitches. How does she know that? Only my parents and Danny know. "Where are you getting this information from?" JJ demanded angry with this kid for knowing details about her personal life.

"Did you or what?" Callie is belligerent. "Have a baby from a one-night stand, I mean."

"It wasn't a one-night stand, but my baby was a stillborn. I don't know how you found out about any of this–"

Callie cut in. "Yeah, pretty sure I'm not dead." She decides not to bother concerning herself with the fact that her mother deliberately left her father's name off the birth certificate. In fact, Callie thinks it was generous because it's one less person for her to look for. Callie studies her realizing Jennifer's serious. Callie sighs. "Look, I'm not here to get a payday or whatever. I just need to get emancipated."

"What?" JJ can't wrap her head around this. "What are you…I don't even…"

"Jennifer," Callie sighed, she hadn't wanted to spend the day here. "Fourteen years ago, you and some guy had a kid. You gave up that kid. I am that kid and now I'm applying for emancipation." She waits for JJ to say something and continues when she doesn't. "When I was putting together the paperwork for my hearing, it turns out you didn't sign a permanent release of parental rights." She hands JJ her paper. "My case worker was gonna take forever, so when I saw your name at the top of the file; it doesn't even matter. Until you sign this you're still legally…my mom."

JJ looks over the paper studying each and every word. Her name, her birth date, she even has her birthday on it as well, of course there's no mention of Robert. A twenty three year old Jennifer Jareau selfishly didn't want to tell him until after their baby was born, but because their child died; JJ kept it to herself.

"I can't sign this." JJ tries to hand it back, but the kid won't take it.

"No! Look, I know you convinced yourself I was a stillborn, but I wasn't and I need you to sign this. I swear I'm not trying to get money from you." Callie's tone is desperate. "Once you sign this, I'll never bother you again! You can go back to thinking I'm dead."

JJ pinches her brow. "Callie, is it?" The teen nods angrily. "I can't sign this. It's not that I don't want to, it's because I'm not your mother. I'm sorry." JJ said feeling weak in the knees at the thought of her daughter. She goes to hand back the paper again.

Callie snapped. "Listen, Jennifer, I need you to sign this. The thing is my emancipation hearing is the day after tomorrow. If I don't get your signature I'm gonna hafta spend another four years in foster care with alcoholic moms and creepy dads hitting on me, so just sign it and I'll be gone."

JJ has half a mind to sign it just to help the kid out, but this feels too immoral. "I'm not signing this, sorry."

"Why not?" Callie complained.

"I'm not your mother." JJ knows this must be hard to hear, but it's even harder for her to tell a girl who's roughly the same age as the baby she lost that she isn't her mom. A part of her does wish she could be, but that'd be impossible. Her daughter's dead.

"But the paper says–"

JJ interrupted. "I know what the paper says, but you aren't my daughter. There must've been a mix-up with the paperwork or something."

"What fucking mix-up? It's your name! Your birthday! My name! My birthday! And this isn't a freaking death certificate! It's the birth one." Callie shouted becoming exasperated and ignoring the sobbing baby and the next room. JJ glances down the hall cringing at the sound of Will trying to shush their youngest.

"Alright, that's enough!" JJ decided sternly taking the girl by her upper arm.

Callie struggles, fear stark in her eyes. "Hey, lemme go! Where are you taking me?"

"We're going to the hospital to figure this out once and for all!"

"What the hell is your problem?" Callie tries to squirm away as the older blonde steers her outside. "You're hurting me." She lied convincingly.

At those words alone, JJ instantly releases the kid. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to–"

"All I want was your freaking signature! It would've taken two seconds from your life." Callie said as tears rush to her eyes and she wipes at them. She doesn't get why this woman is being so annoying about a signature; even if it isn't hers, what's the big deal?

"I'm not your mother." JJ tries to get Callie to understand. This is all a misunderstanding, one she has to clear up. "As a federal agent and parent myself, I can't sign something, knowing I'm forging someone else's signature."

Callie's eyes snap to her. "Hold up, you're a fed?" That was definitely not in the file. Fuck, Ben's gonna love hearing about this; her mom's a fed with an apple pie hubby and two boys. Yeah, Callie decided. I'm definitely going to need therapy someday.

"I am." JJ answered carefully.

The smaller blonde demanded. "Then what's your problem with signing this? It's got your name on it!"

"I know this is hard for you to understand, but I can't do that."

"Yes you can!" Callie stamps her foot. "It's just your signature; nothing more."

JJ runs a hand through her hair. She has to get it through the girl's head that she isn't her mother. If spending the evening at the hospital isn't enough then she doesn't know what else to do. JJ walks over to her car. "Get in." The profiler ordered.

"What? Am I arrested now?" The teenager is being sassy and she knows it.

"No," JJ grits her teeth. "We're going to the hospital downtown to sort this out."

"This is a waste of time." Callie turns to the woman in front of her. She looks just as tired as her. If she does this and proves to this fed that she is indeed her daughter then she'll sign the fucking paper. "Fine, I'll go with you…just to prove that I'm right cause right now I think your either a weirdo or a liar; maybe both. But, if I'm right and I know I am; you hafta sign the paper." Callie is adamant.

"Sure," JJ replied coolly doing her best to ignore the tone.

"You have to say it out loud. It's not a real promise unless you say it out loud." The younger blonde unknowingly reveals her age as she does. This kid reminds JJ of Henry when he's in a certain mood. Then again, all kids get grumpy when they want something.

JJ sees the determination and almost grins – almost. "If you're right, I promise I'll sign the paper." There's no way this kid is right. JJ feels bad for her.

"Okay…" Callie sounds wary, but gets in the car nonetheless.

They drive in silence for some time. JJ drums her fingers against the wheel while Callie sits in the back glancing out the window with a tired look settling on her delicate, very babyish face. JJ can't help but see how pretty the teenager would be if she dressed up a little. At the moment, she's wearing an oversized green army jacket with worn black jeans. Her shirt is cool; it has The Bangles scrawled on it.

"Hey, so how old are you anyway?"

"You don't know that already?" Callie's voice is soft, softer than it's ever been. There's an undercurrent of pain in there that JJ catches immediately. "I'll turn fifteen in June."

JJ raises her eyebrows. That's younger than the average to try for emancipation. "And you're trying to get emancipated?" She asked.

"Yep," the kid answered flatly.

"Are you sure this is what you really want?" JJ asked before she can stop herself; being a mom she could never imagine Henry getting emancipated especially at fourteen years old. Hell, Meg's fifteen and Kate's deemed she still isn't ready to babysit Beth longer than three hours. "I mean, you still have plenty of time to find a family."

"No I don't." Callie replied in a harsh, broken tone. "People only want babies. I have to get emancipated okay? No offence, but I don't want or need a family. Being on my own is my only option; it's…it's just how it is."

JJ refrains from saying a fourteen year old on their own is a bad idea. "You should be able to get the names of your biological parents from the hospital. That'll help right?" She tries to sound hopeful, but Callie looks so dejected.

"Yeah, I'm sure it will." But, I already know you're my fucking mother.

Surprisingly enough, Mercy Grace Hospital isn't as busy as JJ thought it would be. In fact, if anything the staff looks bored. The pair goes to the front desk watching as the secretary perks up at them. The woman's eyes snap into attention and she sits up straighter, even a few doctors glance their way as though assessing them for injuries.

"How can I help you ma'am?" The woman behind the desk is polite. Callie snorts. She sounds like a waitress at a restaurant. JJ gives her a look earning an eye roll in return.

"We need you to look up a birth certificate." JJ informed.

"Alright, what is the birth certificate you want to look up?" She chirped in an overly excited tone that makes Callie want to huff, but for some reason she doesn't.

Callie interjected. "Caroline Scott, no middle name." She waits until the secretary turns her attention to the screen before smirking at JJ's look. "What? I liked Callie better." The profiler shrugs curiously. Callie got her nickname through her heart surgeon who wanted to help his patient feel special because there was already three other patients' named Caroline.

"Huh," the secretary murmured and turns the computer screen towards the pair. "As you can see, the parents, or in this case the parent is listed right here." She points out the maternal guardian being Jennifer Jareau.

JJ looks at the signature. It's her name, but the profiler knows she never signed this. She looks over at Callie who's smirking in typical teenage arrogance. But, this doesn't make any sense. The older blonde turns to the secretary. "There has to be some mistake, I never signed this. My baby was stillborn." She tries to keep her tone even, but it's beginning to waver and memories of that fateful day are flooding back.

"This isn't your signature, ma'am?" The secretary tries to hide her mild boredom. She wishes more interesting cases would come in rather than these boring ones.

"No," JJ rubs her brow. "I mean of course it is. I just…I never signed it."

The secretary looks puzzled. "I'll just check the system again. What the date of birth?"

"June 4th 2001." Callie said biting her nails, nervous. She doesn't understand what the hell is going on and doesn't like that feeling.

"And the hospital?"

"St. Mary's Hospital in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania at 11:47 pm." JJ said smirking at Callie's look and waiting until the secretary is typing again before responding to it. "You didn't think I would know my own baby's time of birth, did you?" Callie shrugs, honestly she didn't.

The secretary clears her throat. "Just give me another second," she punches a few keys reading about the births that day near the time. There were two female babies born on the day and near the time, but that isn't what's catching her eye. "Huh, the same certificate keeps popping up. Are you sure that was the day you went in, ma'am?"

JJ insisted. "Of course, I'm sure."

"Excuse me," another nurse interrupted causing all of their eyes to shift to her. She goes over so she's standing somewhat protectively behind their secretary's chair. Judy knows Alicia gets the most heat from patients. "Is there a problem here? Alicia?"

"Nurse Jensen, this woman claims she had a stillborn child…but the records prove otherwise." The secretary informed sounding like a little kid tattling on someone.

Nurse Jensen nods seriously. "Who was the doctor assigned to her that day?"

"Doctor Edwin Frye."

The nurse's eyes go wide in understanding. She heard about what happened in Pittsburg and never thought she'd see one of Frye's cases. "Print that file and if he was the physician on any other births that day, near the time of birth presented." She turns to the rightfully bemused ladies in front of her. "Can you two have a seat in the waiting area? I need to check something. I promise I'll be right with you two."

JJ demanded, not moving a muscle. "What's going on?"

"That's what I'm going to figure out. I'll come back to you the minute I do." The nurse grins but JJ, being a profiler sees straight through that smile, noticing nervousness in corners of her eyes.

It takes maybe half an hour for the head nurse, Judy Jensen, to get back to them and now they're currently sitting in her office. A detail JJ and Callie find surprising, the fact that a nurse has an office. Judy sits at her desk biting her lip reluctantly. Callie studies her. She's scared and a little frantic. That can't be a good sign. JJ regards this as well. There's another moment of silence, before Judy finally and rather reluctantly breaks it.

"This isn't going to be an easy thing for either of you to hear, but did you ever hear about the scandal at St. Mary's Hospital?" After two head shakes, Judy nods. She hoped they had, but it happened more than a decade ago. "Doctor Edwin Frye, the primary physician on your case fifteen years ago was fired eleven years ago for doing something like this."

"What do you mean 'something like this'?" JJ questioned.

Judy glances at Callie before speaking. "It was discovered he forged signature onto birth certificates."

"So, Jennifer's not my mom?" Callie asked as she rubs her brow. JJ meanwhile frowns, the girl reminds her a little of Ross, maybe in the shape of her eyes. Callie swears this is getting more and more complicated – all she wanted was a damn signature.

"No, I didn't say that." The nurse said. "He may have forged the signature, but we found two birth certificates in the system with your name. Both were written by Dr. Frye, one had Jennifer Jareau as the mother with no father listed and the other had Phillip and Mackenzie Scott as the parents. Other than that, everything else was the same."

"Why would she have two different birth certificates?" The blonde profiler asked.

"Ms. Jareau, can I ask you a very personal question?" Nurse Jensen asked causing Callie to flush; she doesn't want to hear this. "And I won't be offended if you don't answer, but this could really help clear up what may have happened."

JJ glances at Callie who's studying the carpet intently. Regardless of how uncomfortable the teen may feel; JJ wants to get to the bottom of this. "Go ahead," she urged.

"Did you hold your baby when she was born?"

"No…I didn't want to, but there was no crying. My mother saw that she wasn't moving and Doctor Frye told me she was stillborn. I told him to take her away. I knew holding her would be too much." JJ holds back the tears that threaten to fall while Callie looks away. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"We think your baby wasn't stillborn, we think she was born sleeping. It rarely happens, but that makes the most sense. Of course, there are tests doctors do to make that call, but Dr. Frye was a doctor with the most number of stillbirths among single women. The staff there figured something was off. It turns out eleven years ago; Dr. Frye told a single woman her baby was stillborn, but really he gave the baby to another couple." The nurse hands another sheet of paper to JJ. "Here is your baby's death certificate; it shows the weight as 8lbs 9oz, but on her birth certificate it has your name and the baby's weight as 7lbs 3oz. You can also see that Dr. Frye signed off on both documents." Judy explained. "But, we also have the weight for the Roe baby as 7lbs 3oz."

Callie frowned. "I don't understand."

"Okay, so Mackenzie Scott had a baby girl the same day two hours earlier. The baby weighed 8lbs 9oz, but when they rechecked the weight; she was 7lbs 3oz which doesn't make sense and Dr. Frye should've caught it immediately. That's why I believe that Dr. Frye did the same thing to you that he did eleven years ago."

"What're you saying? My baby wasn't stillborn and Dr. Frye gave my daughter to another couple because he didn't like single mothers?" JJ demanded becoming enraged.

"Ms. Jareau, we aren't sure what happened." Nurse Jenkins is calm. "But that's what we think may have happened. Before he went to prison, Dr. Frye admitted to doing this."

Callie asked casually. "Is he still in jail?" JJ glances at the teen stunned by her tone. She doesn't even sound like she cares. They could be related and she doesn't even – actually, now that JJ thinks about it; Callie spent her life thinking she was given up, what she's feeling is only natural.

"From what I hear, he is." Judy said studying a pissed off JJ. "Ma'am, the only way we can be sure is to run a DNA test. It's the best way to find out if this is what happened. You don't need to worry about expenses, we'll pay for everything." This could be good press for the hospital too; ever since a surgeon accidentally put a wet cloth in a man's abdomen they hadn't had the best luck in terms of publicity.

JJ nods. "Okay, let's do the test." Callie's mouth is agape, the profiler ignores her. "Let's do it." She repeated as the nurse nods sending word to Alicia to gather the materials.

"How long will it take?" The teenager is huffy. "A few minutes?"

"No, unlike a pregnancy test, a DNA test takes much longer." Nurse Jenkins admitted wishing it could be quicker, but they must tread carefully with this matter.

"How much longer?" Callie demanded; her blue eyes filled with controlled annoyance.

Judy promised. "We'll put a rush on it, so three days."

"Three days? No way," the younger blonde shakes her head. "That doesn't work for me. I'm supposed to be getting emancipated the day after tomorrow. I can't just – I have to get this…ugh, she has to sign it." Callie sounds like she's venting more to herself.

"I'm sorry, but three days is the most efficient way to determine the truth." Judy hates the likes of Doctor Frye-types' who make snap judgments about people based on preconceived beliefs. As a single mom she finds the idea of handing off another woman's child disgusting.

JJ gapes at the teen for a moment before turning to the head nurse. "How soon can we get this DNA test started?"

"Right away," Nurse Jensen said and minutes later the door opens to a woman carrying swabs. Judy takes one from Alicia who goes over to JJ. The head nurse gets a petulant Callie. "This is a swab, Caroline. I'm going to use it to scrape the cells from your cheek. It won't hurt. Please just open your mouth."

"What's the point of this?" Callie demanded, annoyed.

"To find out the truth," the nurse explained.

The teen scowled. "I already know the truth." She hates her name and a part of her is pissed, not at the nurse. But, at Jennifer for not signing the paper; this could've been avoided if she had. After another couple of minutes, the swabs are placed in envelopes and sent off with the woman who swabbed Jennifer's mouth. There's no way in hell that this fed is going to ruin my plans. "Are we done here?" She asked waiting until the nurse and JJ's backs are turned before swiping their files and shoving them into her jacket. This is the only way she can get what she wants.

The nurse sighs. "Yes, can I get your numbers so that I can reach you when we get the test results?"

"Of course," JJ reaches into her purse taking out a pen to scribble her number down. When she hands the pen to Callie; the teen considers giving them her real number, but at the last minute decides on a fake. This way, she won't have Nurse Ratchet calling her. No, she needs to get emancipated and nothing, nothing is going to get in her way.

They bid their farewells…or well JJ does while Callie stomps away slinging her back over her shoulder looking like the cranky kid she's acting. Once outside the office, Callie takes the files out of her pants and shoves them into her backpack. JJ smiles apologetically at Judy who shrugs it off. It all makes sense, JJ thought. The reason Callie pissed me off is because she reminds me of – me. That angry girl is definitely her kid, there's no doubt about it. JJ hurries after her. She needs to see her again, really see her.

But, for Callie this isn't a new or happy revelation. She knew Jennifer was her mother. She didn't need any fucking clarification. The last thing Callie wants is for the head nurse to realize she stole her file. The teen looks around for the nearest bus stop.

"Hey," JJ called. "Callie, wait up." The younger blonde sighs and walks at a slower pace allowing the fed to catch up to her. "Where are you going? Do you need a ride back to wherever you're staying?" JJ can't believe her little girl is standing in front of her.

"I'm good, thanks." Callie dismissed.

"Don't be silly, I brought you out here; the least I can do is give you a ride back." JJ offered studying the teenager feeling her heart constrict. Callie's without a care wardrobe could do with some changing too. Okay JJ, she thought. Don't be too much like your mother.

Callie sighed. "I kinda would rather take the bus."

"Oh okay, but we should really talk before…" JJ wants to know her daughter, the same one she thought died. She ignores the buzzing in her pocket. Will has to be going nuts. She's been gone a while, but she'll deal with that later.

"Are you going to sign the form?" The young girl blurted.

"Oh um well no," JJ coughed.

The almost fifteen year old shakes her head. "Then we have nothing to talk about."

"Of course we do." The profiler sees a bus turn the corner. Callie gears herself to get on causing JJ to exasperatedly demand. "Do you even have any idea where you are?"

"Look," Callie looks at her with the signature Jareau scowl. "No offence, but I haven't had a mom in a long time…I don't need one now." She heads up the bus steps letting them shut behind her. If Jennifer isn't going to sign then she'll do it herself. She already has her signature on file, a little bit of forgery isn't a big deal. The bus leaves in a huff with Jennifer standing there frustrated and confused. This is definitely not going to be easy.

About an hour later, JJ pulls into the driveway. She gets out of the car and is halfway up the porch when she realizes she hasn't been home in an hour. Her biggest boy is likely pissed with her. Finding out about this, frazzled JJ and she needed some time to herself. Callie is her kid. How am I going to tell Will I had a baby before I met him that I thought died, but didn't? Even thinking it is nuts. There has to be an easier way she can tell him. JJ's decided to wait until she knows for sure before telling anyone outside of Will and the team.

The minute JJ steps into the house, Will rushes over to her. "Where have you been? I've been callin' yah, your team has too." Will has Michael in his arms and is wearing a worried squint. Henry watches his parents from the couch. Taking note of how their sons' are around, Will puts Michael in his bouncy seat and follows JJ into the kitchen.

How do I tell him? JJ spent an hour driving trying to understand it all. She doesn't even know what's going on herself. He won't know either. But, she has to tell him. He's her husband. She leans against the sink.

"What's wrong?" He asked softly. There's worry in his eyes. He was mad before, but now he's plain scared because if knows one thing about his wife, he knows she only gets quiet about the serious stuff.

"I'm sorry…for worrying you and the team; I'll call them later."

Will chuckled. "Somehow I think Garcia knows already, but you should call anyway." His eyes become serious. "I reckon something happened to stir up a reaction like this." JJ wants to answer; she wants to tell him but what if he resents her. "Cher?"

At that word alone, JJ begins telling him everything starting with her summer fling with Robert Perry to how she had thought her baby was stillborn and wrapping it up with how Callie may be her baby. She doesn't leave out any of the sorted details. And at the end of it all, Will is rubbing the back of his neck as though lost for words.

"Yah know," he finally said. "I sorta had an inkling today would be interesting when Henry burped the alphabet and Michael blew snot bubbles, but this exceeds my expectations." Will goes for what he knows best, comedy. "So," he rocks on his heels. "What happens now?"

"Callie is my daughter. I don't need any tests to tell me." JJ stated. "I can feel it. All these years and she was alive, I thought she was dead and…that girl is my daughter – my baby girl." Will hugs her tightly. "How am I supposed to do this? I don't know how to fix this."

Will kisses the top of her head. "Nothin' needs fixin' maybe a little touch-up here and there, but on the hour of slightly awkward time with her; she seemed like an alright kid to me." He tilts up her chin. "You aren't alone in this yah know? She may not be my blood, but blood doesn't make family." Boy does JJ know that.

"I still have to tell the team about her." JJ said a moment after he said those words. Then a thought or rather a disheartening realization strikes her. "She hates me. She doesn't want anything to do with me."

"She doesn't hate you." Will gently tucks her hair behind her ear. "She's a kid; one whose hurtin' bad right now, but she doesn't hate you." He gets he's saying things JJ knows, but in this moment she's the irrational momma of a very pissed off teenager.

JJ shakes her head. "She came here to get emancipated." The profiler can't believe if Callie never came then she'd go on believing her daughter was dead. That thought alone tears her up inside and at the same time she's grateful too; it's so confusing. "That's all she wanted from me, my signature. Can you believe it?"

"I can't, considering she looks Jack's age. What is she? Twelve?" Will questioned his eyes wide. He'd never want his boys to get emancipated at twelve or thirteen. He can't imagine a girl doing it. Then again, he was raised with the belief that girls need to be protected. Yeah, he knows. That's sexist. Don't get him wrong, he thinks ladies are powerful creatures mainly because his wife is the strongest person he knows…but this girl isn't a woman yet.

"Fourteen," JJ corrected, Callie's baby face is the Jareau side of the family's fault. "She'll be fifteen this summer. I can't believe she was in foster care the whole time."

Will asked. "What happened to the people who took her?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out." JJ is determined. Now that she knows her baby was alive, she plans on finding out what happened. She gauges her husband. "Are you sure you're okay with this? I mean, how come you're not freaking out?" Not that JJ would ever stop, but she thought he'd be going a little more nuts right about now.

"Oh trust me, I am. It's just on the inside." Will grinned, his eyes soft with kindness. "But, that girl is family and it don't matter where family comes from; once you find em' yah hold on tight whether they want yah to or not. I can't promise I'll be any good at this step-father deal, but I'll do my best." He looks around. "Hey, where is she anyway? I think now's as good of a time as any to get the real introductions over with."

JJ sighed. "She didn't want me to drive her so she took a bus to her home and no, she didn't tell me where that was or give me any way to reach her."

"Ah," Will tries to hide his smirk.

"What's that look for?" JJ demanded as she folds her arms over her chest.

"What look?" Her husband smirked playing dumb.

JJ frowned. "The one you're wearing."

"Nothing," he promised. "Just realizing how much fun this is going to be cause if she's driving you nuts from afar, I can't imagine what she'll do to you when we're together." Will's evil grin earns him a shove. "I like it when yah get feisty." She raises her eyebrows and like that her husband becomes serious. "How do you think we should tell Henry? This girl is his sister, he has a right to know. He ain't little like Michael."

"Crap." JJ hadn't thought about how this would affect her sons, in particular Henry, who should be informed on these matters. "I don't know, but the sooner we deal with this as a family, the better. First, I'll call Garcia and explain. Knowing her by Monday, everyone will know about Callie which isn't necessarily a bad thing." Will tilts his head to the side causing JJ to lean in and kiss him. "I won't need to tell anyone more than once and Hotch may give me some days off to deal with it." She lands another kiss this time deepening it.

When they pull apart, Will has a goofy grin on his face. "What was that for?"

"…for everything," JJ replied going over to the sink to wash her hands in preparation to make dinner.

"That's a lot to put into one kiss." Will remarked as he wraps his arm around her waist pulling her close. "Who said it was over?" He tilts her chin up softly pressing his lips against hers. The couple only breaks apart when they hear Michael fuss and Henry whine that he can't hear the T.V. "Guess that's my cue."

JJ smiled. "Uh-uh, I've got it. You decide where we'll order dinner from and I'll take care of our boys." She walks into the living room lifting Michael into her arms to coo at him as she sits down beside Henry stroking his hair. Taking in the moment; JJ can't help but wonder where Callie is and whether she's safe. Oh she's definitely going to have Garcia implant a tracker on Callie's phone.


	3. Are You Ready

**I hope you guys like it. This is based on Life Unexpected and a little bit on The Fosters. I hope you guys like it and know that JJ didn't tell the team because she was too sad about losing her first baby. Some things are private, even amongst the closest of friends. Callie definitely isn't going to participate on solving any of the cases solely because she's only a kid and I like her better as being JJ's daughter, not her teammate.**

* * *

Chapter 3

* * *

Callie yanks her bags off the bus. She should've waited until she was fully emancipated to tell her foster parents to shove it. But, she thought Jennifer was going to sign it. _Fuck me and this situation._ Callie thought she'd struck gold when she saw her birth certificate only had one name on it. She was pleased because that means one less person to track down. The father is unknown and that suits her just fine. But, Jennifer knows. She knows who he is and left him off. That's harsh and surprising since Callie thought her father was a random hook-up.

By the time she makes it to Diana and Laurel's apartment, it's nearly nine at night. The buses usually stop picking people up in these parts at nine so she had to walk most of the way with her suitcase and garbage bags. Going up a flight of stairs, Callie groans as she knocks on the door. Her crap is beginning to weigh down on her and she wants to put it down without worrying someone is going to steal something.

Ben takes one look at his best friend's face and immediately let's her in. "C, what happened? Did you find your mom? Did she sign the paper?" He asked grabbing one of the garbage bags and dragging it inside.

"Too many questions, food first." Callie goes into the kitchen to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. They usually have good food here. Laurel tends to go grocery shopping when she's hungry. "You want one?" Her offer makes Ben smile and nod. After taking another bite of the sandwich, Callie growls. "I found her, but the bitch wouldn't sign it." She huffed plopping down at the kitchen table.

"What? Why not?" Ben is confused. He offered to go with C, but she refused.

Callie shakes her head. "It doesn't matter. I stole my birth certificate and I need a master forger best friend to sign it." The teenager glances at Ben who takes a bite of his sandwich shrugging in approval.

Before Ben can speak, Diana's voice rings through the apartment. She has her youngest, Rosie, perched on her hip and is smiling tiredly. "Miss. Callie Scott, to what do I owe the pleasure?" The auburn haired woman asked still clad in her scrubs from the evening before. Her wife, Laurel Cohen-Grey appears behind her wearing her trademark pantsuit with Violet in her arms; the poor six year old looks sick as a dog.

"Jackie kicked me out."

"That b–" Laurel exchanges a look with Diana and nods down to their impressionable daughters. "Bad person," the therapist decided as her wife's nephew grins cheekily. "I'm sorry Callie, you can stay here tonight. But, tomorrow, I have to call your social worker. Don't give me that look Benjamin David Grey; you know she can't stay here forever." Even though Laurel wishes she could, but there isn't enough room.

Rosie squealed. "Callie's staying!" The three year old wriggles, until her mummy puts her down. "She can sleep in my bed. It'll be just like a slumber party." The tyke can hardly contain her excitement; even though it's past her bedtime at least she'll have someone better than sick Harper to play with now.

"I don't think she can sleep with you tonight cause Harper's sick and we don't want Callie to get sick." Diana tries to save the teenager from being trapped with a kicking toddler and coughing six year old. Rosie pouts. "But, you can play with her tomorrow after kindergarten; come now Sunshine, it's time for your story." Diana holds out her hand as the little girl thinks about making a fuss before she takes the offered hand. "Say goodnight to your cousin and Callie, baby." The little girl does as she's told albeit very grumpily, but Diana knows she has to pick her battles.

Laurel hangs back studying her partner's nephew slightly. "You two don't stay up too late. Callie, you know the couch is yours for the taking. Oh and whatever you're planning, know that mum and I know and see everything; other than that, sleep well." She kisses their temples lightly before steering Rosie away.

Ben shakes his head. "Hey, yah know Aunt Laur is just saying that right? You know you'll always have a place here with us. Hey wait the lady upstairs is gone for the winter; something about wanting to see snow. You could crash there if you want. I think she was an art teacher or artist or something; I'd visit you tons."

"Thanks Benny, who needs parents anyway?"

"I know I don't." Ben grinned even though Callie seriously doubts he means it. He's been in the system since he was four and living with his aunts since he was eight. He and Callie met a few months before he moved in with Diana…he protected her from Mr. Dalton for as long as he could.

Callie nods. "By Thursday this won't even matter. I'm going to be emancipated. So can you do it? Sign Jennifer's signature, I mean?" Ben nods and quickly gets to work on doing the job. Callie watches him and munches on the sandwich feeling only slightly unsure about all of this. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Diana and Laurel watching them sadly. Callie gets it. They want her here, but they can't have her here at the same time. In every way though, they are a family…sort of – not in the traditional way but it's still alright.

* * *

Will gently caresses his wife's long blonde hair. It took her forever to fall asleep. He has no doubt she was tossing and turning out of worry for Callie. He was worried too. Hell, he wanted to go looking for her but he doesn't know shit about this kid. The girl was with him for an hour and he didn't find out anything about her. The cop in him is pissed and the dad in him feels like a failure. Callie is his wife's girl making her part of his family, blood has nothing to do with it. JJ opens her eyes gazing at him clearly exhausted.

"Morning," he whispered softly. "You look like hell."

JJ can hear the concern in his voice. "Are you trying to seduce me?" She grins rolling out of bed grabbing her phone off the nightstand to check for any messages. Maybe there's one from Callie.

"You know I love yah no matter what yah look like. Are yah sure you wanna go to work today with everythin' that's goin' on? You can stay home today yah know, I'll even stay with yah if yah want. Henry could too. We could make a day of it." Will offered wrapping an arm around her pulling his wife towards him so she's on top.

"You don't need to do that." JJ can still see the wheels beginning to turn in his head. "We don't have any cases, so doing paperwork will keep my mind off…certain things."

Her husband nods kissing her before going to get Henry up. JJ heads off to the bathroom brushing her teeth and splashing some cold water on her face. Once she's done, she looks herself in the mirror. Like second nature, her mind goes to Callie. They look alike. JJ didn't see it before, but she does now. JJ always hoped she would.

"All right," Will walks back into the room. "I got the boy up. Figure, Mikey could use some sleep still since he was up most of the day. Natalie will be here soon. She can get him all set for the day." He watches her change into her work clothes. "Yah know, I've been wondering just how are we gonna tell Henry he has a sister? One who's twice his age and that we never even knew about until now." _He's goin' have so many questions._ Will thought knowing they'll get through this – as a family – and they'll be better off for it.

"I want to know for sure before we tell him. If she's not mine, I don't want to overexcite him or confuse him." JJ's tone is soft. They have to wait until she knows first or else Henry may get overexcited. "If she is, us three will go out for ice-cream and talk then. Right now, I think we should keep this to ourselves."

After a moment, Will smirked. "He's either gonna love the idea of having a sister to bug or hate having to share us with another person." So far, Henry's been absolutely incredible with Michael but they both know sooner or later he'll get sick of sharing them; it's just a matter of time. JJ was a whoops baby with Ross seven years older than her and Danny nine years her senior, they both adored her. _Huh,_ JJ thought to herself. _Henry is roughly the same age as Ross was when she was born and Callie is the same age Danny was. Weird, that'd make Michael me._

"I think it'll be a mix of both." The couple laughs softly. Pursing her lips together as she buttons the black pants, JJ sighs. There's something that's annoying her – something that makes JJ want to cry; it's the guilt that's getting to her, the pain of seeing Callie. "I can't believe I didn't recognize her." She murmured quietly.

"Cher," Will's voice is kind and laced with warmth. "That's not your fault."

"What kind of mother doesn't recognize her own child?" JJ asked feeling tears of anger rush to her eyes.

Will shakes his head saying. "No. You can't blame yourself. If yah wanna put the blame on anyone, put it on that Doctor for giving your little girl away. This is now your fault. None of this is fault. So don't blame yourself."

"I just…she's so angry with me." JJ closes her eyes feeling ashamed of herself.

"That ain't gonna last forever." Will promised. "You know that. You're a momma. Henry gets angry with us sometimes, but at the end of the day; we're family, nothing beats that." They hear Henry loudly proclaim he wants pancakes for breakfast today and share a chuckle before he heads downstairs.

JJ goes to get Michael up. She figures the least they can do is have Mike ready for the day. Natalie already does so much for them and she's a part-time student too. "Hi baby boy," she cooed. "How's my littlest man?" He stares up at her with Will's eyes. She can tell he's going to take after Will in a bit more features than Henry, well except his hair. "You have a sister." Her voice is soft, almost a whisper. "Her name is Callie and…you have a big sister. You don't mind, right?" Michael gurgles. "I didn't think you would. Let's get you dressed for Nat."

A part of JJ knows this is foolish – her getting all excited over a girl who may or may not be her daughter, but she can't help herself. The truth to the matter is that she wants Callie to be hers. But, what if she's wrong? JJ doesn't want to get her hopes up only to find out that her daughter is still dead. It's just…she has to know. The not knowing would kill her. She has to know whether Callie Scott is her kid or not.

* * *

The next few days sort of blend together with JJ working mindlessly thinking about Callie constantly though, she hasn't seen the girl since they took the maternity test at the hospital. She and Will know if Callie is her daughter, they'll have to tell Henry. JJ's just worried about his reaction; Henry's good, but every child has their limit. He's noticed something is off too; JJ can tell because Henry's stopped whining as much. The mother wishes she could put on a braver face, but her daughter's out there and JJ has no idea what she's doing or who she's with.

So far, the team has been supportive. Just like JJ predicted, Garcia told Morgan who told Reid who told Rossi who told Hotch. It took two hours for the team, including Tara Lewis to know. JJ was happy with that. She didn't feel like explaining this more than once. Each of her team members are taking in this information in their own unique way; Garcia's near stalking Callie on Facebook, Reid is re-reading books on raising teenagers, Lewis has been mildly looking into things teenage girls may be interested in, and the others are doing searches on Callie.

JJ can tell they're all walking on eggshells around her though.

She wishes they wouldn't.

The blonde profiler is eating lunch with Garcia when she gets a call from an unknown number. Glancing at her cell in mild confusion at first, JJ blinks remembering before answering– maybe it's Callie. It's not. As it turns out its Nurse Jensen; JJ grins, but then she deflates recalling they're supposed to find out about the DNA test tomorrow, not today. Nurse Jensen tells her that Caroline's file is missing.

JJ guesses she's frowning pretty hard because Garcia snorts. "You look like you just ate a package of Sour Patched Kids and chased them with a bottle of vinegar." Penelope studies her friend pulling a face. "What's up?"

"It was the nurse from the hospital…Callie's file is missing. I mean they have extra copies online, but she just called to tell me–" JJ stops short. Callie was impatient on getting the signature. She rushed out of the hospital like her feet were on fire and clutched onto her backpack. _Oh shit._ "She didn't."

"What are you talking about, Jayje?" Garcia asked.

 _Callie stole her file and I know why._ "I think Callie stole her file to forge my signature." JJ shakes her head as Garcia resists the urge to smirk at her friend. "Pen," the techie looks over. "Can you trace where Callie is?"

"Momma-Bear, I can certainly try."

It takes Penelope all of ten minutes to pinpoint where Callie's last Facebook update was, actually it's her friend Ben Grey's post that allows the techie to find her. She was tagged in one of his pictures the night before and that's all Penelope could find. She's currently waiting outside the apartment of this Ben kid, which by his name alone – sounds like an actor – but here they are. Or rather, JJ went upstairs to the apartment where Ben lives, he's listed as Diana and Laurel Cohen-Grey's dependent. Garcia wanted to come, but JJ insisted she wait in the car…if Callie is here, this could get intense and JJ doesn't want her best friend to meet Callie on such awful terms.

JJ knocks on the door, twice. She hears the rustling of feet slapping against the ground and blinks taking a step back as the door is yanked open to a caramel skinned little girl with light brown waves. She's clad in her pajamas appearing almost green, poor kid must be home sick today.

"Hi there," JJ guesses the girl standing in front of her is anywhere from six to nine years old. "My name is Jennifer, I'm a federal agent and I'm looking for Callie Scott. Is there an adult I can talk to?"

"Mama, there's some agent lady here." The little girl turns away from JJ shouting. "She's looking for Callie!"

A woman's gasp can be heard throughout the apartment. "Harper Diana, you know better than to open the door without asking who's there first." With that an African American woman with her hair pulled into a bun steps into the hallway leading towards the front door. Harper has the sense to look abashed. Laurel stands in front of her daughter protectively. "Harper, go wait for me on the couch." The six year old pouts and Laurel rubs her back. "I'm not mad, honey. You just need your medicine and mama needs to talk to this nice lady. Go on now, lovely." Harper nods leaving her side as Laurel's gaze to shift upward. "Did I hear my daughter right before? You're a federal agent who's looking for Callie?"

"I am, but you don't need to worry. Callie didn't do anything…I just need to talk to her."

"Huh," Laurel nods. "I'm Laurel Cohen-Grey, Callie stayed her last night. I know she's not supposed to and I was going to call her social worker, but…the poor girl got the boot from her last home." JJ suddenly feels waves of guilt in herself, but gratitude towards this woman. Garcia told her on the ride over how Laurel Cohen-Grey occasionally makes deposits into the account of a Michelle Grey, most likely to ensure she won't get anywhere near Ben.

JJ asked. "Do you know if she plans on coming back today?"

"I don't, I'm afraid." Laurel takes a sticky note from the nearby table scribbling down Callie's school. "Here's where she goes to school, but wait – today's Thursday right? I bet you anything she's down at City Hall right now trying to get emancipated; it's all she talks about." JJ feels her inside churn. "You should go there. I bet you anything my nephew, Ben, is with her. You know what? I'll go with you. Harp, grab your jacket, come on love." The girl quickly pulls on a sweatshirt and follows them downstairs. "I would offer you a ride, but I think your friend is worried about you." She smiled nodding towards a frantic looking Garcia.

"Uh yeah, thanks." JJ said as she runs to the car. "Do you think we can get everyone to be at the courthouse in the next half hour?" Penelope's eyes light up and she quickly leaps into action calling her Chocolate Hunk of Burning Love first while JJ sends her husband a quick text before driving off.

* * *

Callie tries her best to ignore Ben's anxious pacing. Ditching school was not on his to-do list today. Granted, they attend different schools; Callie 'encouraged' him to skip with her. It used to be that he was the one who said they should ditch. Over the last couple years, he's become mild; Callie surmises it has to do with his fear of his aunts kicking him out someday. She doubts that'd ever happen, but foster kids – they expect the worst to ensure they aren't hurt when they're right; Callie's social worker, Tanya Belmont calls it a coping mechanism.

But, it's not her fault. Callie's hearing is scheduled for today and she had to be at the courthouse so her latest case worker could give her all of the paperwork. It's a damn good thing Tanya's out of town or else she never would've signed off on this. She's on some retreat helping orphans in Uganda or something. _Me cutting school better not affect how they see me, it was their choice to assign me today, not mine._

"Would you quit pacing Benny?" Callie bites on her nails groaning at him. "You're making me nervous."

Ben snorted worriedly. "You're nervous? If my aunts' find out I skipped, I'll be grounded for a month – and Laurel will wanna talk about it cause she's a therapist." His griping causes Callie to roll her eyes, it wasn't like she put a gun to his head and made him come.

"You know you didn't have to come."

"Shut up." The older teen plops down beside her. "You're my family, C; no matter what." A grin forms on Callie's face lasting a second before her temporary case worker, Eric Singer, walks over. To Ben, the guy looks like he stole clothes out of his father's closet. Callie would've been better off going to Tanya for this. But, he doubts Tanya would've ever sign off on this; it's a good thing she's on a four month volunteer trip.

Callie's eternally grateful her latest caseworker is a complete idiot. He's likely only been doing this for a week and doesn't know jack. God, does she love fresh out of college case workers. They're so easy. She matts down her skirt and peers up a at the Latina judge presiding over her case.

Judge Louisa Santos rubs her brow. _Kids these days want to grow up so fast. They don't realize their best years are now._ She understands that some foster homes aren't exactly suitable, but not all of them are as terrible as the Lifetime Movies make them out to be. Surely, this girl standing in front of her can't truly believe she's going to sign off on this. Firstly, she's fourteen and secondly, she has no job or any means of obtaining an apartment without a job; she closes her eyes. "Caroline, I don't know how you got an emancipation hearing but…" her eyes snap up at the sound of the courtroom doors bursting open.

"Wait!" An urgent, very familiar voice called out. "Don't let Callie emancipate herself."

"She's just a baby!" Callie's cheeks turn bright red at that and she twists her head around to a blonde woman wearing the brightest colors she's ever seen on a person.

"Excuse me, who are you?" Judge Santos questioned.

Callie cringes. "S-She's," the teen points to a clearly annoyed JJ all the while averting her eyes from a pissed off Laurel who, goes over to Ben glaring at him in that stern scary mom way. "Uh, my birth mother."

"Let me see that file, please." Louisa motioned to her clerk who quickly fetches it for her. _Hmm, now this is interesting._ The Latina judge has never seen this before; only once has she heard of her colleagues pulling a stunt like this, but it worked out well then. "You work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is that correct?"

"Yes, Your Honor." JJ stated reaching for her husband's hand.

"No criminal record then, you're also married I see with a husband and two children; familial ties and you each are in possession of a working vehicle." The judge mused glancing at the man by Jennifer's side. "William LaMontange, you work for the Metro Police…reasonable hours, I presume." Will nods not quite certain what the hell's going on, but deciding to go with it. "That's good and it seems you have people supporting you as well." She nods to the group of federal agents watching while Hotch nods confidently.

Callie asked. "I'm sorry, w-what's going on?"

"Okay," Louisa's eyes fall on the blonde teenager before her. "I'm going to be straight with you. I'm not granting you emancipation. You have no income, no permanent resident; you filed a fee waiver in order to cover your court costs. Now, Jennifer Jareau is still legally your mother."

"Uh actually, she's not." Callie said feeling her cheeks turn a pink color. "I-I had the paper signed." That is true.

Wanting to help JJ's kid avoid trouble, Hotch steps in putting on his attorney hat. "But, the signature was neither witnessed nor notarized." He reminded the judge who looks thoughtful.

"That's true and I would not even consider granting you emancipation regardless. So, unless anyone here has any objection; I'm releasing you back into your mother's temporary custody. This case is dismissed." Judge Santos declared slamming down her gavel. This worked out a hell of a lot better than she thought it would.

Callie's fists clench and she sighs. At least the judge didn't find out about her little thing with forging Jennifer's signature. That wouldn't have been good. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Laurel practically drag Ben out of the courtroom; he shoots her an apologetic look on his way out. But, Callie gets it. He's about to get shouted at and Laurel is the type of parent who does that in private. The fourteen year old starts on her trek out deciding she has to re-group and think this over. JJ follows after the pissed off teenager.

As they finally step outside, Callie turns; fuming. "What are you doing here?" She demanded angrily. The girl looks past JJ to the group of in awe agents. "And you brought what? The whole freaking FBI with you? Why are you even here?" The looks she's getting from the people behind Jennifer are weird. Oh and in comes Jennifer's hubby.

JJ doesn't bother with pleasantries, instead she takes the small girl's arm and steers her outside managing to block her daughter's path in the process. "I could ask you the same thing." She remarked releasing a squirming Callie.

Callie huffs. _What gives her the right? I don't have to tell her dick. She might not even be my mother._ Instead, Callie rolls her eyes and goes to walk back inside, but JJ and it seems like a freaking army block her path. "What's your problem?" The teenager turns to JJ angrily, Will raises his eyebrows at the tone.

"Did you steal your file?" JJ ignores the teen's question and demands one of her own.

"No, why would I do that?" Callie plays dumb, a trait that doesn't suit her in JJ's opinion.

Rossi remarked. "Never lie to a profiler piccola."

"I'm not lying." She said through clenched teeth. _Why the fuck did Jennifer bring so many people?_

"Oh really?" JJ chuckled causing Callie's attention to turn onto her. She can't believe Callie's still trying to get away with it even though there's evidence proving she took them.

If there's one thing Callie learned in the system; it's deny, deny, deny. "Really," Callie drawled. The team watches the scene unfold looking intrigued because there's no doubt in any of their minds that Callie is JJ's kid. She has the same striking blue eyes and the set in her chin makes Garcia burst into a fit of giggles. Callie raises her eyebrows at the laughing woman, confused. She knew Jennifer's friends were crazy.

"So in the court room then, you were lying?" Callie looks away from the pissed off older blonde. "I thought so." JJ's tone is even. Callie isn't used to that. She's used to people shouting at her, screaming even, but not this coolness that's just plain scary. Callie swallows hard. "Give me your bag." JJ said already reaching for it.

"W-Why?" Without realizing it, Callie's grip on the bag tightens. This subtle motion alone causes all the profilers to share a smirk; she's trying to hide something.

JJ starts to get fed up. "Because I told you to, come on; give it."

"Do you have a warrant?" The younger blonde is just as annoyed. This woman has no right to look through her stuff like this. _There has to be something illegal about a woman and her crazy ass friends following me around._

Much to Callie's shock, JJ lets out a bitter laugh. Hotch clears his throat. Being a former attorney, he's learned a few tricks of the trade…especially when it comes to dealing with people who hardly know the law besides watching a few episodes of Law and Order. "We can get a warrant, but if we find something in your bag that proves you committed a crime then this will become a serious offence." His stone face causes Callie's lips to purse.

"But, it's my file!" Callie objected.

"That doesn't make it any less illegal." Aaron added. "As an attorney, I would know."

Callie's eyes widen and she glares at JJ. "You brought an attorney? What the hell?"

"You have two choices; we get a warrant or you hand your bag over willingly, your choice." JJ said using her scary profiler voice. Derek and Garcia exchange amused glances. They rarely, if ever, see JJ get like this; Will knows this side of JJ is rare. Reid seems concerned about the girl as he bites on his lip nervously. Meanwhile, Hotch and Rossi fight back their laughs. JJ holds out her hand. "Last chance, Callie, hand it over."

"This is bullshit." Callie muttered ignoring the looks she gets for her choice of language.

"Watch your language." JJ clipped taking the bag from Callie and opening it. She takes out the papers handing the teen's bag off to Will. Skimming through the documents, she stops. "So here's the file you stole from the hospital right?" Her tone is stern while Callie rolls her eyes glancing away from the older woman. The mother ignores her and pulls out the other form she'd been looking for. "You forged my signature then."

"Technically, it wasn't me exactly." The fourteen year old said her deep sapphire blue eyes filled with cheekiness that causes snickers to erupt amongst the agents standing around her.

"Then who was it?" Derek asked earning what he can only guess is the patented Jareau eye roll.

Callie may be pissed off right now, but only bitches tattle and she's no bitch. Ben is her best friend. "Does it even matter?" Her shoulders sag and her tone loses the venom it had before.

"No, I guess it doesn't." JJ agreed, knowing who helped Callie in this but deciding to pick her battles. "But, forgery is still illegal." The mother is refusing to let Callie think she can do whatever she wants. This is serious, what if she did get emancipated? Then what? It would've been void and Callie would've been in serious trouble.

"It wasn't even your signature; it was Doctor Frye's." Callie said sassily reaching for her bag only to have JJ pull it back and give her a glare. "It doesn't even matter anyway cause I got the opposite of emancipated in there, but I will…after I turn fifteen. So, can you just give me back the papers?"

JJ isn't sure how she should handle this. Her kid's resilient JJ will give her that. The mother glances at Will who seems to be thinking the same thing. "Callie, I'm sorry, but I can't let you go through with this." JJ really does pity the teen standing helplessly in front of her. Garcia does too. All she wants to do is wrap this precious baby in a hug, but Callie looks too angry to want to be touched right now. She'll have to do it with the baby sugarplum later.

"Why?" Callie demanded her voice breaking. "By tomorrow we could find out I'm not even yours. Then what'll happen to me huh? You'll get back to your life as a fed and shit, but I'm stuck in another crappy home with five other kids. Then what? Huh? So give me my papers." Her eyes are filled with angry tears of frustration.

"Callie," JJ sighed trying to figure out how she to word this. "I'm not going to let you go through with this because I know you're my kid." Callie folds her arms over her chest. "You don't want to hear it, I know, but this is a mistake; one you can't take back and no offence, but no judge would ever okay this emancipation. A few months is not going to make a difference." JJ can tell she's hurt her feelings. "I'm not saying this to be cruel; it's just the truth. No one would ever hire you to work for them and no one would ever lease an apartment to a fourteen year old."

"Almost fifteen," Callie put in.

JJ shakes her head. "I'm not giving you back these papers because I can't let you go through with this. You can hate me all you want or accept it, but you're not getting emancipated; not today or anytime soon." The profiler has to get this through Callie's dogged head. _God, was I ever like this?_ JJ wondered. "Before you try to fight me on this, know that theft and forgery of medical files are serious offences." She glances at Hotch who resists the growing urge to grin while the others don't even bother trying to fend it off. "You could get sent to jail." JJ added.

Callie complained childishly. "But, they're my files."

"Still," JJ said. "They weren't yours to take. They belonged to the hospital. Normally, as an agent I would have to take you in, but since the judge already put you in my custody there's no point." She ignores the twin looks of bemusement her husband and Hotch are giving her. "Now come no, let's get going."

"This is blackmail, _Agent Jareau._ " Callie folds her arms over her chest with raised eyebrows.

Will speaks up. "What your mom…ah JJ is trying to say is we're trying to look out for your best interests."

"We don't know if she is my mom, even if you think you are; you might not be." Callie's words strike a chord with JJ and the teen swallows hard ignoring Jennifer's evident disdain. "How would any of you know what my best interests are? You've known me for what? A few hours?" She questioned trying to control her annoyance, but she's upset too. There's something in the flare of her nose that reminds JJ very briefly of Robert. "And you think you know what's best for me? You've gotta be kidding me. Yah know what? I'd rather go back to foster care." She shoves her way past the group.

JJ glances at Will in panic before playing her last card. "That's not up to you; I haven't signed away my right as your mother and Judge Santos gave me custody of you. So, legally, you're under my care." Callie stops walking, but doesn't turn around. JJ swallows hard before daring to continue. "You hate me right now; I get it and I wish you didn't. If I had known you were alive, things would've been different." She stops short and closes her eyes. "But, let's make one thing clear; wherever you think you're going, you're not. You're coming home with us."

Callie turns back around huffing. "You can't do this." She argued.

"Yes, I can." JJ replied sternly.


	4. Brand New Life

Thank you all for the awesome reviews! I'm glad you guys all like Callie, but even if she isn't biologically JJ's daughter she is legally in her custody.

* * *

Chapter 4

* * *

"Watching someone sleep is really creepy, kid." Callie doesn't have her eyes open. She's never been the deepest of sleepers, hardly any foster kid is. But, having someone breathe only inches away from her face is a dead giveaway that a person is near and through the slits in her eyes; she recognizes the person as Jennifer's oldest son.

Henry's eyes bug out, he thought she was sleeping. He grins happily, not insulted by her words; he's happy his new sister is finally up. Henry could hardly contain his excitement when his parent's told him about her. The boy climbs onto her bed. "I know you." He sits cross-legged beside Callie studying her. "You're the girl from before…the one who doesn't like cookies." Henry's nose is scrunched up and his tone is matter-of-fact.

"I like cookies, I just…I wasn't hungry then." Callie settles on half of the truth. She doesn't want to tell this kid she didn't want to accept anything from his family out of – well maybe it's a little bit from spite.

"Oh, I'm always hungry 'specially for cookies. Mommy makes real ones. She and Daddy say I'm the human garbage cause I eat anything except asparagus and mushroom." His adorable rambling reminds Callie of Harper. Henry tilts his head to the side. "Why're you here? I know you're gonna live here now cause you're my sister, but I just got a new brother and he's littler than me and you're not. You're bigger, not fat – just bigger so why."

Callie replied. "I uh, do you know what a judge is?" At Henry's insulted look, the teenager laughs. _He's definitely going to be a ladies man when he's older._ Callie thought to herself. "Okay, so a judge told me I gotta live here now." This kid is something, she has to admit. He's different, different good.

"And you're my sister?" The smaller blonde quizzed curiously.

"I ah…well I don't know yet. Legally, I am, but biologically–" the teen gets out of bed and starts on her way to the kitchen with Henry hot on her heels. She stops short and peers down at his confused face. He has no clue what she's talking about, Callie sighs. "What I'm trying to say is that I'm sort of…kind of, maybe your sister."

"Okay! I've never had a sister before. I sit here." Henry rushes over to the seat he's claimed as his own. "You sit there now." He points to the chair beside his, that's usually empty. Henry guesses when Michael's out of his baby chair he'll sit next to mommy since she has the only empty chair next to her.

The teen slides into the chair beside her sort of brother's. "Nice choice, I have a good view of the kitchen." Her tone is only slightly sarcastic and from the looks of his wide smile, Henry doesn't notice.

"Daddy sits there," the little boy tells her how it is as he points to the head of the table. Callie can't help but smirk; _how very traditional._ "Mommy sits there." _So Jennifer's across from Henry._ "And Michael sits there in his baby chair. It used to be mine, but I'm too big for that. He's little." Henry nods to the high-chair adjacent to Callie who bites her tongue, _no shit, but at least this kid isn't a complete pain._ "If you get confused or forget something, you can ask me and I'll tell you cause I've been here a while." Henry borrows a few lines from movies he's seen.

"Thanks squirt, that's nice of you."

"You can call me squirt, but not kid." Henry decided putting his cards on the table causing Callie to smirk at his boldness. "But, I get to call you something too." Okay now he has her full attention and the teen frowns.

Callie wanted to keep herself at a distance, but can't help asking. "What're you gonna call me?"

"I don't think you're ready yet." The boy announced further bemusing her. "Did you know my best friend Jesse has a sister too? She's real pretty, you're pretty too but your hair is my color and Melody's hair is black and her name is weird." Callie squints wanting to know what he plans on calling her. "After school, do you wanna come over to Jesse's house?" Since he isn't allowed to take Mike places without his parents; Callie is the next best thing. Plus, none of his friends have ever seen her before. They already know what Michael looks like. "Jesse's dog Brody leaves wet kisses and his mommy owns a diner. We play Batman and Robin, sometimes I'm Batman and sometimes Jesse is." He looks at Callie. "You could be Cat Woman or the princess we save."

Before Callie can think of a response to get out of it, they're interrupted by someone clearing their throat. "Bubs, did you wake up Callie even though I told you not to?" JJ pretends to look upset, but really, she's excited at seeing her kids together. This is a picture perfect moment. It doesn't matter what the teen says, she knows in her heart that Callie is her little girl. She can feel it in her bones.

"Sorry mommy, I just wanted to show Callie where she has to sit." The seven year old said putting on his very best innocent face. Callie has half a mind to take notes because damn, that kid has the best naïve expression she's ever seen. His is even better than Violet's and she didn't think that was possible.

"Sweetie, Callie can sit wherever she likes." Henry pouts. "Next time, wait for Callie to leave her room before barging in, alright?" Her son nods reluctantly, JJ studies him. "Can you be a big man and help daddy get Michael ready for Natalie? I need to talk to Callie." JJ said waiting until he dashes out of the kitchen before turning to the teenager. "I'm sorry about him; I think finding out about you got him excited." JJ doesn't mention how Henry came into their room at five this morning wanting to know who the girl was. She should've known he'd wake Callie up the minute he left, but she was too tired to think straight.

Callie rests her arms on the table. "That's okay; he didn't climb on me like Ben's cousins do."

"Oh trust me, once he gets used to you; he'll be doing the same thing." JJ laughed gently and then becomes a tad bit more serious. "So, uh Callie, I was thinking we could talk a little."

"Have you changed your mind?" Callie asked her eyes wide. She isn't trying to hurt Jennifer's feelings, but she's better off on her own. "Are you gonna sign the form?"

JJ refused. "No Callie, we talked about this." Each time Callie brings it up, JJ tries to mask her pain and anger with firmness, but it's getting harder. "I'm not signing the form. You've been put in my custody."

"That's not fair." Callie pouted looking a lot like Henry, more than JJ thought was possible. She knows she and Dan don't appear nearly as similar. Or at least she doesn't think they do. "You promised you'd sign the paper if you found out I was yours. That was the deal. It was the only reason I went with you to the hospital."

"That was before; when I thought there was no way you could be mine." JJ replied evenly.

Callie muttered. "We still don't know that yet."

"Regardless of whether you are my daughter or not, I'm legally responsible for you. So for the time being, you're going to stay here…with us." The blonde profiler decided resolutely, before deciding to soften her tone a bit. "I still want to talk to you about a few things though."

"Like what?" Callie tenses up ever so slightly and it would've gone unnoticed by anyone else had they not been a profiler, but JJ spots it in a matter of seconds.

"Why did the Scott's give you back?" The guardian asked the question that's been nagging at her.

Now that's a tough cell for Callie. She knows it's in her medical file, but foster parents can't get a sneak preview without asking Tanya first. "I was uh…do you know what hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is?" At JJ's confused look, Callie sees she doesn't and that lets the teen know she didn't get this genetic disorder from her. So that means it's from her father. "It's a problem with heart muscles making them too thick. When I was little I got sick, so when the Scott's took me to the hospital…they found out I needed surgery and that's not cheap. They left me there."

"How old were you?" JJ asked quietly.

"Uh I think seven months old." Callie shrugged with her eyes on the table while JJ tries to control her anger to the Scott's for just handing over her daughter like she means nothing to them. "You know, I get it. Who wants to be saddled with a sick kid? It makes sense." Her laugh makes JJ frowns; she's obviously trying to rationalize their behavior, make it seem like it's not as bad as it is. Callie looks over at JJ studying her strangely. "After that, I needed some other surgeries to repair my heart muscles. By the time it was over, I was three and most people want a baby and not some kid with an incurable heart defect. Happens to the best of us, I guess." She shrugs trying to mask the pain with humor, a trait JJ knows Robert had.

JJ is silent for a moment before daring to ask. "You're okay now though, right?"

"I'll always have HCM, but yeah, I'm fine." Callie swallows her daily medication. When she was small, she used to be ashamed of having to take pills, but now she doesn't care. "As far as I know, I don't need any more surgeries so that's good…even though I think another scar would be cool." JJ makes a face. "You don't need to worry. I can play sports like everyone else. I just hafta take my heart meds to keep myself regulated and crap."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you." JJ studies the blonde haired mess of a teenager.

"It's not your fault, Jennifer." Callie replied feeling her cheeks burn in embarrassment. No one's ever apologized for her condition before; it is, after all, genetic, but Callie now knows she got it from dear old dad.

"You can call me JJ, all my friends do."

Callie's cheeky grin reminds JJ of her older sister and her breath catches. "So we're friends?" The teen sounds amused; this is the first time any foster parent has ever wanted to be her friends.

"I'd like to start as friends and work from that."

"Work to what?"

The blonde profiler plays with her hands. "To mother and daughter," she feels the heat rising in her cheeks. This is not a conversation she ever expected to have with her child; especially one she thought was dead.

"Jennifer…JJ," Callie receives a look from her guardian. "I might not be yours. I could still be the Scott's baby."

JJ stares at her for a long time trying to get why Callie thinks that. Surely, she has a reason for saying it over and over again. There has to be something more to it than spite. _Because after everything that's happened, how can she not know she's mine?_ "Do you really believe that or is that what you're telling yourself?" The profiler asked folding her arms over her chest and raising her eyebrows in confusion.

"What?"

"The other day, I kept telling myself you couldn't be mine…it was my way of protecting myself. I couldn't lose you a second time; it hurt too much the first. Look, I know you're mine. You may not want to believe it, but I know you're my kid." Callie rolls her eyes, a defense mechanism that JJ's noticing her kid puts up to protect herself. "You don't have to take my word for it. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't either, but do you want to know something?" The teen glances over. "I'm ashamed I didn't recognize you the minute I saw you. I'm ashamed I wasn't there for you like I should've and wanted to have been. Callie? How do you feel about this? I know you wanted to get emancipated, but really how do you feel about everything?"

"I just – I didn't think it would turn out like this." Callie said not sure how to go about explaining this. "I thought you'd sign the papers and it would be over. I didn't think you'd tell your family."

The profiler frowns. "What do you mean?"

"Well, there's a chance this could be a misunderstanding and it was…it would've been easier if no one had known about me. I'm not saying this to be a bitch; I'm sure you're a great mom and you have a nice family, but I have to be practical here. My whole life, I thought my first mom wasn't ready and my second parents…were jerks. I'm not used to this." Callie looks down. "I've been doing alright and then I find out you might be my mom and that I was sorta kidnapped. Now I have all these people around, ruining my chances of freedom. And why? Cause some dick doctor wanted to give me to a couple he liked more? It's just fucked up."

"You're absolutely right it is." JJ said causing Callie's eyes to shift upward. "I know this is a lot to take in and I'm sorry if it seems like it's happening at once, but I'm not going to pretend you never walked into my life because I'm glad you did. You can think our family ruined your plans, but we were only doing what we know is best for you. I get that this isn't easy for you, but you're mine. Regardless of what the test says. Just know that after today, you'll have a family watching out for you; no DNA test is going to change how I see you."

Her words render Callie momentarily speechless. "We find out today?"

"We do…or at least I do," the older woman smirks at her charge. "The number you gave Nurse Jensen isn't in service anymore and apparently belongs to an eighty-seven year old man living in Oregon which is weird."

"That is really weird." Callie agreed with a grin. "Don't worry, you have my real number." There's a piece of her that wants to know the truth, but a large part of her already knows…and doesn't want it to be true. This would've been so much easier if Jennifer had signed the forms. She doesn't want to get too attached to them because in the end they'll be like the Roe's and get rid of her.

"What do you want for breakfast?" JJ asked; her blue eyes bright.

Callie smirks a little. "Coffee?" Most foster parents don't give a shit when it comes to food, as long as you don't eat too much or too little; they don't care. Callie's been in homes where the fridge was locked.

"Ah, I don't think so. You can have cereal." JJ said going over to the cabinet and takes a peek inside. "We have Fruit Loops, Cheerios, and uh Will's healthy almond cereal that's surprisingly good but don't tell him I said that or he'll get an even bigger head than he already has."

"Actually, I should probably get going." Callie stands.

JJ glances at the kitchen clock. "What time does your school start?"

"Eight, but I want to get there on time. I guess I'll have to take a bus…or two." Callie isn't great at geography; it's a miracle she made it to Jennifer's house without having to take five buses.

"You're not taking the bus if you don't know where you're going." The profiler refused, not wanting to worry about whether Callie made it to school. JJ also doesn't want to risk the teenager running away. "I can drive you."

She shakes her head. "No that's okay, Belleview High is kinda far from here and you probably have to work. The government could imprison you if you're late."

"Yeah, I've never heard of that happening...wait you go to Belleview High School?" JJ tries not to judge, she really does. But, that school is the most dangerous one in Virginia and it's…it's not safe for Callie there.

Callie hesitates a moment before answering. "Um, yeah?" She isn't sure why JJ is making that sound like it's a bad thing; school is school. "Is that problem?"

"No, it's not a problem at all." JJ lied plastering a grin onto her tense face. First she finds out her daughter has an incurable heart defect and now she learns Callie goes to the most unsafe school in Virginia. This kid is trying to give her gray hair. Her attention drifts to the boys bounding down the staircase. "So are you more into Fruit Loops or Cheerios?" The mother asked half-wishing she could spoil Callie and make pancakes.

"Uh, can I try Will's almond cereal?" Callie asked as Henry rushes over to his seat, his grin contagious.

"You most definitely can." JJ gets the almond cereal and Lucky Charm's out of the cupboard as Will grabs the bowls along with milk. At least this way they don't have to worry about a fight starting between Henry and Callie because the teen isn't eating Henry's cereal…a.k.a. Lucky Charms. Too be honest, Will's pleased someone wants to try his cereal, JJ's convinced it'll taste disgusting and Henry is a momma's boy…the father hands them their bowls.

Will promised. "You're gonna love it, Trouble." He smiles at Callie who starts eating and nods in approval causing the man to puff his chest in pride as he goes over to his eye-rolling wife.

Henry gags as his dad lands a light kiss to their mom's lips. Michael, who after watching his brother, makes a face too; if Henry's doing it, he has to do it as well. Callie can't keep the grin from crinkling her cheeks and leans back in her chair feeling a bit relaxed. These people aren't terrible, but she still has to leave. She can't get too comfortable here or…Callie feels someone poke her side.

She glances over at him. "You gotta make a face when they do that." Henry whispered in an all-knowing way.

"Why?" Callie asked feigning seriousness.

"Cause," he scrunches up his face and shares a look with Michael. "You just do."

The teen pulls a mock grave face. "Alright, squirt." To show how much she cares about his opinion, Callie makes a disgruntled face when JJ kisses Will again. She holds the look and then glances at Henry. He nods as Callie sighs; she has to stop bonding with him…she's not gonna be here long.

As it turns out, JJ couldn't drop her off at school because she got pulled in for a case. For a moment they were at a loss, but when Nat arrived and offered to drop Henry off at school; both parents accepted gratefully. Their nanny has to be the most amazing person; she's going to the grocery store after. JJ's decided the college student is a dream, even Garcia likes her…but she may be biased because Pen used to babysit Natalie.

Will pulls up to the front of Callie's school and immediately after he does, he wants to take off. There are security guards standing out front scanning students with a metal detector at the entrance. His eyes widen. Oh hell no, his step-daughter can't go here. Callie should be going to the same school as Mat Cruz's kids. At least there he wouldn't have to worry about Callie getting attacked by drug dogs.

"Thanks," Callie said as she opens the door.

"Do you want me to walk you in?" Will is already unlocking his door. He knows for certain JJ would walk Callie in and he sure doesn't trust those delinquents. Hell, he's probably seen some of them at the precinct.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but hell no." She replied causing Will's eyebrows to rise. She looks so much like JJ and normally he'd find this highly amusing, but right now he's worried. "Having you walk me in would be social suicide…thanks anyway." The teen forces out a grin and shuts the car door.

Will rolls down his window. "What time do yah want me to pick you up?" If it were up to him; Callie would go to a different school, but he isn't sure where he stands with Callie. She's not his, they're not even sure if she's JJ's. As much as they think she is, Callie might not be _._ "You have mine and JJ's number right?"

"Yeah, but I can get a ride." Callie walks away before the cop can say anything else.

* * *

After Will calls to tell JJ about dropping Callie off at Belleview, the profiler decides to look up the school. She's heard horror stories about it from people, Kate used to say that school is the breeding ground for criminals. Maybe the rumors regarding her kid's school are just idle talk. As she looks over the most recent news, JJ gulps, feeling even more concerned. According to a news article just last week some kid got tazed for bringing a knife to school.

"Belleview High School," Spencer remarked reading over her shoulder. "That school is notoriously known as being filled with deviating behavior ranging from gang violence to bomb threats. Why are you looking that up?"

"Because Callie goes there," JJ can already tell her team isn't going to like this. They've become invested in Callie's overall well-being; in the elevator this morning, Hotch asked how she was adjusting.

Reid informed. "Did you know that just last year there was eight gang-related stabbings and the school once closed for a bomb threat; it turned out to be false though." His eyebrows knit together worriedly. "I'm surprised you'd let Callie go there." He pegged JJ as being a helicopter mom and figured the same would extend to Callie.

"I don't want her to go there; it's different with her." The blonde explained and then bites down on her lip. "How can I tell her not to go to Belleview when I haven't even known her for a week?" Her question renders the others silent, but it does little to quell Penelope's inquisitive voice.

"My Sour-Patched Teen goes to Belleview? Oh hell no," Garcia stated ignoring Derek's pleading looks to stay out of it and marching over. She came up here to cajole JJ into a girls' day shopping trip this wekeend mostly to spoil her newest niece Callie. "I can transfer Callie to St. Agatha's…hmm give me five minutes and access to her Facebook page." Derek's eyebrows shoot up. "What? She needs a picture for her ID and I want to pick a cute one. Oh who am I kidding? She's adorable, any pic would work."

Rossi asked. "What are we talking about?"

"Callie goes to Belleview, so I'm transferring her to St. Agatha's." Penelope said as JJ tries to cut in. "She's going to look so adorable in the uniform."

"Piccola goes to Belleview?" David is surprised. He and the rest of the team thought Will and JJ were extremely overprotective of their own, never letting Henry wander off and always knowing his whereabouts.

Reid offered. "I could make a few calls and see about having her go to St. Agatha's too." He wants to help his godson's older sister…and perhaps maybe his goddaughter.

"Yeah, a college buddy of mine is the vice principal there." Derek said knowing Bobby Rhett won't mind. Hell, they were drinking buddies almost every weekend.

JJ nods recognizing his hesitance. "Yes, for now – I don't know. Look guys this is really nice and all, but I'm not even sure if she wants to leave Belleview. She could have friends there."

"Probably drug dealers," Garcia muttered.

"It's not up to her, you're the mom." Derek argued. If he and Savannah ever have kids, they're going to have to do as they're told; simple as that. There are dangerous things in this world and none of them are going near his kids.

Pinching her brow, JJ gets up and heads to the break room. She can't handle this right now. They're putting in their opinions when…what this really boils down to is, what she and Will think is best. Of course they're right, but they aren't the ones who have to do with a pissed off Callie after. Spencer follows after her. Penelope starts to go after them, but Derek puts his hand on her shoulder, stopping her with a look when she frowns at him. They took this too far. He gets that. He just – they went to Callie's hearing and it feels like he's part of this now.

Reid studies his friend, watching as she goes over to the tea kettle and pours herself a cup. Crap, JJ only drinks tea when she's stressed out. "JJ, don't listen to them. Callie's your…well, she's legally yours. You do whatever feels right." He does think sending Callie to a decent school wouldn't hurt, but JJ looks too overwhelmed to hear that.

"The thing is though, I know what's right. I know that sending her to St. Agatha's is better." JJ said taking a sip of the lukewarm beverage. _How long has it been since someone's changed this?_ The blonde profiler puts the mug down. "I'm just worried about her."

"That's understandable considering Belleview is the most unsafe school in the state."

The blonde glances over at her brother-like friend. "That's not what I meant, but thanks for that." Spencer flushes and shrugs it off. "This morning, she told me she has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and that's why the Scott's left her and I'm a horrible person for being a little happy that they left her because I never would've known about her if they hadn't." _Finally admitting the truth,_ JJ thought. _I'm a terrible human being._

"Jennifer, you are not a horrible person." Spencer promised. "What you're feeling is only natural and you know it; in fact, it'd be strange if you didn't feel guilty for feeling the way you do." JJ lets his words sink in as Reid suddenly glances over at his friend worriedly. "Does she take her medication?"

"Yeah of course," JJ saw her take a pill this morning.

Reid has decided when he's finished his paperwork to check out the heart disease. "And you haven't heard of her needing surgery or possibly having weakened heart muscles?"

"Uh no," _Okay and now I'm back to worrying about her._ JJ shakes her head. She's going to need to buy some books on this. "I mean Callie told me she doesn't need surgery anymore, it's ah…I've never had a kid with a disease like thisand you can tell me it's not, but I'm a mom and everything is a big deal when it comes to my kids."

Spencer nods. "I wasn't going to say it's not a big deal, because it is. HCM is an incurable heart disease. She could need more surgeries in the future and you'd have no way of knowing unless her heart gives out or during a check-up a physician discovers that she'd need surgery." JJ's mouth is agape in fear. "And I'm not helping am I?" The blonde shakes her head having half a mind to yank Callie out of school just to make sure she's still breathing. "As long as Callie keeps up with her meds and doesn't push herself during sports she should be fine."

"I don't even know if she plays sports." JJ said feeling disheartened with this revelation.

"She's your daughter, of course she does." Reid scoffed.

The friend admitted reluctantly. "We don't know for sure, if she's mine." As much as she wants it to be true, Callie may be Phillip and Mackenzie Scott's biological daughter.

"I doubt it. She has your eyes and her face is symmetrical to yours." Spencer recognizes the hope in her eyes. "If I were a betting man, I'd say the chances of her not being your biological daughter are unlikely."

"You're a good friend, Spence." JJ remarked. She wishes Reid would get out there again and find a nice girl.

Reid smiles modestly. "I do what I can."

She shakes her head at his shyness and feels her phone buzz. Shooting Spence an apologetic look, he nods letting her know she an answer it; JJ does and listens as Nurse Jensen tells her to come in…with Callie. As much as she tries to get the nurse to tell her the results, Judy refuses to do so unless they're in person. They set up a time to come in around three, so maybe she can cut out of work a little early; Hotch won't mind. Reid watches with raised eyebrows and waits until after JJ hangs up before questioning her.

"What was that about?"

"Nurse Jensen has the results; she wants me and Callie to come in later today." There's an undertone of worry in her tone along with mild hesitance that Reid catches. He nods and the pair starts out of the room. "Hey," JJ pauses pursing her lips together. "Do you think we could keep Callie's heart condition between us? I don't know if she wants me telling anyone besides Will, about this and I know Garcia will watch her illegally if she finds out."

Spencer watches her go, muttering. "If, you mean when."

* * *

Callie chuckles as Ben finish off his second burger. She swears he eats more than anyone she's ever met; it's weird that he's not fat. Then again, he does play hockey and football so it makes sense. Callie plays soccer, a sport Ben detests. But, he is the only one who's gone to every single one of her games; cheering her on and she does the same for him. Diana and Laurel do their best to go to most of Ben's events, but they get busy.

"How's it with the fed? She make yah piss in a cup yet?" Ben asked as Callie pops a fry into her mouth.

"Shut up...her family's, nice I guess." Callie admitted quietly. When Ben met her after school, they'd skirted around the subject and she apologized for getting him grounded for a week. Ben pretended like he didn't care, mostly because he knows Callie never intentionally tries to get him in trouble. That's just how it usually works out for them. Callie squirms on the bench. "They're kinda weird."

Ben stops eating and raises his eyebrows protectively. "Weird how?"

"They eat breakfast together." She stated as though the concept is foreign to her and now that Ben considers it; he agrees, in most foster homes, no one eats together. The only exception is when they're having a case worker come evaluate them. That's when they really shine.

"Oh," he relaxes. "So they're normal then." Ben replied ignoring her scowl. "What're you looking at me like that for? You can't say we're normal cause we aren't." He learned that the first week of living with Diana.

Callie slugs his arm. "Shut up, it's like living with the freaking Cleavers." _Okay so that's an exaggeration, but still._

"If you don't like them just tell Tanya that they aren't fit."

"I can't do that without getting all of their kids taken away." Callie said and it's not even bad there. Henry and the baby seem okay. And Will doesn't seem so bad. JJ…well she makes Callie feel weird, no offence or anything but it seems to the teenager like she's trying too hard.

Ben gives the typical guy answer to an easy question. "Then don't."

"You're not helping you know." She tries not to smile as her surrogate brother pulls a goofy face at her. "Gimme a bite, I'm starving." Callie forgot about lunch today. She wasn't thinking clearly this morning and forgot to make herself one. And hell no would she ever buy lunch, the food at Belleview is absolutely revolting.

The pair is lulled into silence as a car pulls up and honks at them. Callie inwardly groans as Jennifer steps out of the car and walks over to them. She doesn't look mad, just pensive.

Callie demanded. "What're you doing here? I told Will, I'd get a ride." Her sharp tone surprises Ben.

"I know you did, but I came to pick you up because Nurse Jensen called and she has the results." JJ explained a part of her wants to scold Callie for her rudeness, but she holds back. She can't very well do that; it's just…if Callie had been with her since the very beginning this wouldn't even have been a problem.

"All right, what'd she say?"

JJ stated. "She wouldn't tell me the results over the phone that's why I came to get you."

"Oh uh okay, see yah around Benny." Callie said nodding at her best friend who has his phone out ready to call his aunts to pick him up; Laurel should be done with work about now. JJ appears hesitant about leaving a boy alone and Callie, seeing this, intervenes. "Don't worry about Ben, JJ, his aunt's gonna be here in five." The lie tastes bad on her lips and she's eternally grateful when Ben nods in agreement while he shows the message.

Deciding to be an adult, JJ waits ten minutes before Laurel pulls up and waves for Ben. He says his goodbyes as he quickly jobs off to Laurel's car. The therapist she waves at her and JJ isn't bothered when the woman doesn't get out of her car, mostly because they're both in a rush. JJ leads a sullen Callie to her car and they drive in silence to the hospital. JJ tries to make idle chatter, but all she gets in return is typical teenager answers. That's why JJ's happy when they pull into the hospital parking lot. Callie, on the other hand is a bundle of nerves. This is all going way too quickly for her. But, she silently follows JJ into Nurse Jensen's office nonetheless.

"Hello ladies," Nurse Jensen smiled uncomfortably as soon as the pair walks into her office. "I'm so glad you were able to come in Caroline. I was having a tough time trying to reach you."

Callie not so subtly tries to hide her smirk. "Really? That's weird." The teenager ignores JJ's raised eyebrows.

"Hmm," the nurse murmured not believing her. "You can sit down." She gestures to the open chairs in front of her desk as she studies them. Now that she has the results, she's starting to see it. JJ sits down and waits until Callie is in the other chair. "Okay, so I don't plan on making you two wait any longer than you have to. The results have come in and it turns out Jennifer, you are Caroline Scott's biological mother."

The moment the words pass through her lips Callie becomes paralyzed. She isn't sure how to react. A part of her knew from the beginning and wants to throw it in JJ's face, but another part of her had been hoping this was all a mistake and that it was the Scott's because they would've signed the form. Callie can feel their eyes on her. The teen suddenly feels as though she's stuck in a corner, everyone wants something from her.

Callie tunes out how JJ asks Nurse Jensen about her HCM. She doesn't bother herself with paying attention to anything except the thudding of her heart. There has to be a limit to how loudly a heart can beat, because hers is breaking a record. The nurse answers her, no doubt. Well, Callie assumes she does. The teenager doesn't care to hear what she has to say. She already knows how to take care of her heart defect thing.

"Hey sweetie, are you okay?" JJ asked gently putting a comforting hand on her daughter's shoulder.

 _Sweetie? Why is she calling me that?_ Callie tenses up at the contact and JJ reluctantly drops the hand. "Yeah, are we done here?" The blonde teenager asked the nurse who stares at her another second almost pityingly causing Callie to huff as she grabs her bag and leaves sullenly.

The drive home is in silence. Callie is staring out the window looking pensive. Her eyebrows are knit together as though she's trying and failing to understand the world around her. JJ stops at a red light putting on her profiler sunglasses; Callie looks like a cross between confusion and bewildered sadness.

"Callie, please say something." The older woman pleaded. "Anything," she gets why Callie is so upset. But, she was hoping this would bring them closer together.

She finally looks at her mother. "What do you want me to say? Do you want me to say that everything's great now cause of this?" Callie struggles to control her breathing, this just doesn't make sense.

"Of course not, but you could at least acknowledge the truth."

"I am acknowledging it, I'm just…I'm confused okay?" Callie takes a deep breath. "I didn't expect this." Of course she did, but she didn't expect it…all these annoying feelings that she's having and she doesn't like it.

"Why not? You were the one who came to me saying you're my daughter and now because you heard something you didn't want to hear, you aren't?" JJ asked sounding like her own mother and cringing.

Callie doesn't know what to say because JJ hit the nail on the head. For a moment there's silence and then, the kid speaks her mind. "I don't know what I want okay? I just…" Her tone becomes broken. "I just don't know anymore and it sucks." With that she wraps her arms around herself as though trying to protect herself. "I don't mean you being my mom sucks, it's just this whole thing is weird and I don't know how I'm supposed to feel or act."

JJ pinches the bridge of her nose. She thought after finding out that this would be easier, but things are getting to be the opposite. The mom decides to go with the words she wanted to hear, but didn't after Ross died. "Callie, you're going to be okay. Everything is going to be okay. I promise."


	5. Church Bells

I'm sorry if you guys don't like this story, then don't read it. I know that sounds harsh, but it's just the truth. Hope you guys enjoy this next chapter, Callie is immature yes, but she's a teenager and they're impulsive.

* * *

Chapter 5

* * *

The ride is in awkward silence, or well, actually it isn't too bad considering Henry's 'The Jungle Book' is playing on audio CD. Callie listens having brief memories of living in a hospital. She was maybe three at the time, but for some reason, hearing this again makes her feel happy…like her entire childhood wasn't complete shit. She looks out the window recalling how the doctors' often had to give her a sedative before surgery – in Callie's defense; she was little and scared that when she fell asleep she wouldn't wake up again.

Before she even realizes it, JJ's car is turning into a Stop-And-Shop.

"What're we doing here?" Callie asked.

JJ pulls into a parking space and parks the car. "I need to pick up a few more things for dinner tonight."

"Oh," the teenager leans back in her seat. She can feel her mother's – even thinking the term seems alien – eyes on her. _She thinks I'm going to take off._ Callie smirked. "You think I'm going to ditch, don't you?" JJ she bites her lip. "Hey, I get it; it's in my file right? I take off sometimes."

"I didn't read your file." JJ stated as she shuts her car door. Callie blinks, surprised. She rushes out of the car falling into step with the older blonde stunned. Before they step into the grocery store, JJ stops short reading her daughter; she can't help it if Callie is wearing a telling face. "If it's not about your health or school, then it's none of my business. If I want to know something about you, I'll ask you; not look at a file someone else has written about you." The slightest hint of a smile graces Callie's face allowing JJ a motherly moment to tuck a loose curl behind her ear. "Your past is yours and yours only. No one has the right to know about it unless you tell them. All that matters to me is the present and future – but whenever you want to talk, I'm here."

Callie is lost for words. No one's ever refused to read her file before; Tanya likely paints her in an honest if not too sugary of a light. Callie knows her case worker cares and she's gonna be pissed when she gets back from her volunteer trip. Her emails promised as much. The teenager suddenly finds her voice. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Good." JJ smiles warmly as she steers the girl inside. "So, what do you want for dinner?"

"Whatever you want is fine by me." Callie shrugged. A part of her knows she should tell JJ about being a vegetarian but people, especially new parents get pissed off when they hear she has to eat differently than them.

"This dinner isn't about me, it's for you." JJ motions to the aisles. "C'mon the world is your oyster, you can have whatever you want – well maybe not oysters because those are gross." Callie rolls her eyes playfully at the lame joke. "What's your favorite thing to eat? I'm a pretty decent cook and Will is…well he's amazing." Will likes a Louisiana fry-up while Henry prefers macaroni with crispy bacon and Michael strangely enough has a love for avocados.

Callie pulls a neutral face and repeats. "I don't care; whatever works for everyone is fine."

"Well, I want you to enjoy what we're eating. This is your dinner." JJ gestures for her to come closer. "There has to be something you like…whatever you want, kiddo, anything."

"I guess uh," Callie has to think for a moment. There aren't many foods she cares about, of course, being a kid she likes pizza…but there's one thing she hasn't had in years. "Can we have mac and cheese? The squiggly kind, that's the only kind I like." JJ grins as the teen reveals her age. "The original one is gross cause it gets too clumpy."

The profiler said. "Oh you are so mine." Callie looks down uncomfortably. JJ sees this and sends Will a text telling him to make macaroni. "Hey, we already have mac-n-cheese so all we need is a dessert you like." JJ's phone buzzes from Pen telling her that she'll bring the kids gifts. "Do you mind if my friends come to your dinner? Will and I don't have family nearby and they're practically our family. You met some of them at your hearing." The girl nods as her mother quickly adds. "You could invite your friends too. Will and I would love to meet them."

"Yeah maybe," Being in the system doesn't give Callie a whole lot of time to make friends. She's lucky she managed to keep Ben around. Sure, she and kids from past homes have kept in touch through Facebook, but hanging out is hard. People go and never come back; it's a simple fact. "So, what do you want me to call you? I know what you said before, but things are…I-I don't know if you want me to call you uh I just don't know."

JJ can tell by Callie's mannerisms that she's worried about the answer. "You're right. You don't and I don't want to push you into anything you aren't comfortable with, so JJ will do." JJ never thought any of her kids would call her that, these are extenuating circumstances. She has to give Callie space until she's ready. "Do you play any sports or anything?" JJ's loved the idea of her kids playing soccer, but Henry's more into baseball which is fine because Will loves playing catch.

"Uh-huh, soccer and lacrosse," Callie's school doesn't have a ton of funding for extra-curricular activities.

"I'd like to go to one of your games sometime." JJ tries not to feel too weird about asking her kid if she can make an appearance at her games. She just can't keep the excitement she's feeling down.

Callie grins bashfully. "Really? Yeah – cool. Sure."

"Wait, what about your heart?" JJ's suddenly alarmed. "Is all that activity good for it?"

"You don't need to worry about it." Callie said waving it off.

"But, I do." JJ knows she's being pushy, but her kid has a major health issue and she has to know if Callie is physically able to play sports, not just because she wants to.

"Okay, then." The teenager said uneasily. "As long as I take my meds; I'm good. Coach Paul would never lemme play if I wasn't good – so no worries okay?" The mother nods making a mental note to chat with this 'Coach Paul' later. Callie licks her lips. "How long have you and Will been married?"

JJ turns to her a bit surprised Callie's interested. "It'll be five years this spring."

"And Henry's seven?"

"He is," JJ said and then adds. "Will's his father; we just weren't ready for marriage when we had him."

Callie nods. This is confusing and she has to get it right. Now, there's this thought gnawing at her insides; one she hadn't thought about in a while. "JJ, what do you know about my father? I thought I was a one-nighter, but you said I wasn't. So that means you know who he is."

"I did, I mean I do." JJ swallows hard. She hadn't been expecting this until later on.

"You know what? You don't hafta tell me anything, it's cool." Callie said after seeing how pained JJ looks and the teen may not know her yet, but she figures she can wait a while longer.

JJ reads the lie off her in seconds. "No, no, honey I'm okay. His name's Robert Perry. We were together one summer and then I never heard from him again."

"Does he know about me?" The fourteen year old asked quietly.

"No, he didn't." JJ is straightforward. There's no use lying. "It wasn't like I sought to keep you from him. I was young and hurt. I thought I'd figure everything out after you were born, but the day you were born…"

Callie finished. "You thought I died."

"I didn't think Rob…I didn't want to tell him our baby died. It was my cross to bear." The older blonde said as Callie nods. JJ walks over to her and tilts her daughter's chin up for eye contact. "If you want I can talk to him and see about you two meeting." As much as it'd pain her to do so, JJ's willing to do it for Callie. Squinting, JJ tries to get a read on her – but it's hard because Callie keeps her guards up.

"I don't think I'm ready." Callie shakes her head, her voice scratchy. "I'm sure he's a good guy, but I just met you and that's weird enough." Her heart is beating fast. "Can I do it another time?"

JJ kisses her forehead, the gesture surprising and embarrassing the teen. "Sure sweets, whenever you're ready."

A strange feeling stirs inside her making Callie suddenly wonder what it would've been like to grow up with JJ. Callie can tell it would've been nice, but she wouldn't know Ben. And he's the one person who's always been there for her, he's her brother. They may not be related by blood, but Callie considers him family.

* * *

Will leans against the counter listening to Reid ramble on about some book with Derek putting his two cents in every so often; just to keep Spencer on his toes. His thoughts drift to his wife and…stepdaughter. Boy is that weird, when he married Cher; he never thought he'd be a stepdad this late in the game. That detail never equated itself in his mind and hell when he married Jennifer, he didn't think it could ever be a slight possibility let alone a reality.

Spencer adds in a fact about 'Synchronicity' before Garcia drags him away to play with the kids. Pen and Savannah are too busy cuddling Mike LaMontange and Beth Callahan. Will is a bit grateful. He adores his sons, but at least this moment of peace will give him a chance to let him think straight.

"So," Derek glances at his friend. "How're you doing with all of this?"

"You mean with Callie? I don't know; it's been kind of a whirlwind." Will is honest. "Our biggest worry was how Henry would take to her, but he likes having a sister and Cher's happy as can be." Derek gives him a look. "If you want the truth, I'm freaking out. Callie isn't mine – I like knowing where I stand with my kids."

Morgan nods. That makes sense. "Can I give you some advice?" Will nods eagerly, he'd love some. "Being raised by a single mom isn't the same as what Callie went through, but when my mom started dating again – these guys would try and tell me what to do…look you don't need to be her dad. That's not what she wants or needs right now. Callie's probably feeling ganged up on. She needs allies. Be that first. It'll make her seeing you as a parent easier."

"I couldn't help listening in Sugar Bears." Garcia flounced into the kitchen. "Babes, DNA doesn't make a family."

"Mama's spot on about that," Derek chuckles as he steers Pen outside. Glancing around, he watches Savannah coo at babies Mike and Beth. She looks so natural with a kid, maybe someday they'll have a baby to hold too.

Callie forces out a grin as she encounters the people that went to her hearing the day before. They're nice, but she's still annoyed. They ruined everything. There are some new people here – the lawyer agent dude brought his son who seems okay, but definitely too into his PSP. The lawyer, who Callie learns is Hotch, nudges his kid…Jack who reluctantly puts the device away to appraise the older girl. After a few moments of awkwardness and that's including introductions, everyone falls back into the lull of their previous conversations. Callie feels JJ squeeze her shoulders encouragingly before going over to Will and kissing him affectionately. The teenager catches Henry's grimace and snickers.

"You know," a woman whose name is lost on Callie is the first to really talk to her. With baby Beth in her arms, she goes over to the uneasy teen. "My husband Chris," Kate points him out. "And I have a daughter a year older than you, Meg. She's at her friend's house right now. Actually, Meg's my niece. Chris and I adopted her when my sister and brother-in-law died." _Shit_ , the former profiler thought. _Now I've made her uncomfortable_.

"I'm sorry…about your family – that really sucks." Callie is polite. Ben's family is like that. He was shuffled around the system until Diana finally got custody of him. A lot of judges in Virginia don't care for lesbians.

Kate nods with her lips pressed together. "You shouldn't say sucks."

"Why?" The teenager asked, not trying to be rude just curious.

"Well, because, I don't want it to be Beth here's first word."

"And I don't your brothers to start saying it." Will added appearing from what seems like nowhere Callie wonders how the fuck he managed to get over here without her noticing. She's usually better than that.

Kate must see this because she offers a sympathetic grin and added. "He walks without making noise; it must be a New Orleans thing." Her joke eases the tension.

"That's so cool. I wish I could go to New Orleans." Callie gushed feeling her cheeks turn pink.

"Maybe, we'll go sometime this summer." He grins noticing that Callie looks like Cher. "Now, are you ready for the biggest Louisiana fry-up you've ever had or what?"

Callie follows him and everyone else onto the backyard patio where an array of food is arranged. There's a line starting to form. She bites down on her lower lip. Fuck. This seems way too Beaver Cleaver which isn't bad, just different. Callie feels uneasy and honestly wishes her best friend was here.

"Aren't yah gonna have something?" Her step-father asked as Callie glances over the food cringing. Everything has meat in it; even the mac-n-cheese has little bacon bits. "JJ told me you macaroni was your favorite."

Henry grinned. "Macaroni's my favorite too!"

"I do, I ah I mean it is." Callie tries to figure out how to word this without coming off like an ass. "I just…I don't eat meat." And yeah, Callie thought, she sounds like a bitch.

"Oh," Will appears surprised if not embarrassed as he looks down at the dish. "I didn't know that." He looks at his wife as if asking what to do next. No one told him that tidbit. JJ swallows nervously as everyone, save Jack, Henry, Savannah, and maybe Garcia study them with cop glasses.

"No worries, I'm not really all that hungry anyway."

JJ supplied. "Well, you have to eat something." Besides cereal this morning, the mom isn't sure what else Callie ate today; the teenager forgot to take the packed lunch she made. "Here, have a cheese sandwich with tomatoes and vegetables." JJ fixes Callie a plate handing it off to the flustered teenager who plops down beside Garcia.

"Vegetarianism is not the worst way to live." Reid informed the group as Callie eyes him curiously. JJ said he was a genius. "Those who do often eat more fibers and magnesium, also, most vegetarians have a lower cholesterol and blood pressure. They also have a reduced risk of heart disease." He swallows nervously as though realizing what he just said.

"I never thought of that other stuff. I lived on a farm with a foster family and after I saw Bambi gutted, I quit eating meat." Callie shudders at the memory of being eight and living with the Webster's. Man they were dicks, when Mr. Webster found out and killed her pet turkey, Alby, in front of her. They had him for Thanksgiving and Mr. Webster made her eat him. Callie still has nightmares about it. "Oh and I'd be screwed on the heart front anyway."

Penelope questioned. "What does that mean?"

"JJ didn't tell you?" Callie asked shocked, feeling a prickle of happiness. JJ and Will kept this private. The other feds eyes are on her. "I have HCM, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy; it's a heart disease." Garcia's mouth falls open in shock. "Yeah, you looked scared…but it's nothing you need to worry about. It's just a defect kinda thing."

"Why didn't you tell me she was sick?" Pen demanded. "Wait, how come you told Reid and not me?"

Spencer glances at Garcia with raised eyebrows. "I don't know whether I should be offended by that."

"I'm not sick well I am, but not really." Callie put in.

Penelope gasped. "My cupcake doesn't even understand that she's deathly ill." Aaron and Rossi share looks at the over-dramatic behavior erupting from their favorite tech analyst.

"What?" Callie wonders if her 'Auntie Pen' is deaf or purposely ignoring her. "I do too – and I'm not deathly ill, I just have a crappy heart." Everyone's treating her like a little kid and Callie's patience is beginning to wear thin.

Reid's shakes his head. "No, that's not it. Your heart muscles become thickened causing shortness of breath or dizzy spells. There's no cure for it, but it is treatable with medication." He can tell his friends aren't even curious as to how he knows so much. Spencer did research on it, he wanted to know how to help Callie if need be. "It's a genetic disease and since JJ doesn't have it; I'd say you got it from your father."

Callie mumbled. "Fucking fantastic."

"We'll just have to keep a sharp eye on you, make sure you don't die on our watch." Garcia vowed deciding from here on out she's never going to let Callie be alone, ever. "So pumpkin pie, I hear you go to Belleview."

"Mommy," Henry tugs on his mom's hand. "What's a veggie-tar-thingy?"

JJ grins down at her son. "A vegetarian is someone who doesn't eat meat, your sister is one." She informed kindly, honestly confused as to how fast everything seems to be going. The mother reaches over and strokes Henry's short hair; she knew getting him a haircut was a good idea. Maybe she could convince Callie to get one. The kid looks like she hasn't had one in about a year – and her hair's looking shaggy.

"I wanna be one too." Henry declared.

The blonde profiler pats his head. His hair is shorter now. He's so cute. She recalls being small and wanting to be like her older siblings. Daniel was always "Really? You do know that vegetarians don't eat bacon, not even the turkey kind." Henry's eyes are wide. Meanwhile, Will tries to hide his grin. "But, if that's what you want Bubs."

Jack's green eyes are wide and he glances up from his game. "You don't eat bacon?" He asked, not even caring that he lost a life in his game. The adults meanwhile are watching the kids exchange with hidden smirks. Kate wishes they made Meg come, but she deserves some time to herself.

"Nope, I haven't had it in years."

"What do you eat then?" Jack bursts into the conversation.

"Tofu," Callie answered simply. She sees the confusion in his eyes and continues. "It's a bean curd thing." Oddly enough, it tastes better than it sounds – well it does, if it's cooked right. Laurel's a vegetarian too, so she can make pretty much anything vegetarian right. Violet and Rosie aren't though, neither is Ben or Diana. But, sometimes Ben makes an effort to eat the vegetarian-foods that Laurel creates.

Jack wrinkled his nose in disgust and remarked. "That's gross."

"Have you ever tried it?" Callie laughed.

"Nu-uh, but – meat is way better right dad?" The boy glances at his father for some support in his argument, he's never met a real vegetarian before and honestly he doesn't understand Callie. First, she's a girl and second, she's a vegetarian. Jack has to admit she is very pretty for a girl.

"That's your opinion, Jack." Hotch answered staying diplomatic. "Callie has hers."

"You're small for your age." Reid observed as Callie frowns at his strange observation. "You know vitamins would improve your protein intake. They'd help make sure you received all the necessary nutrients your body needs. Being a vegetarian, you lack protein – if you consume a fair amount of soy and tofu is fine, but I believe you should take supplements." He said so Reid appeals to the teenager's better nature; her looks. "They would also help your skin and hair." Callie touches her face, she doesn't breakout often but her hair has been a bit coarse lately.

She shrugs glancing at Will and JJ as though asking if he's cool with it. "Yeah, that sounds like a plan. We can't have you fainting – not with your heart the way it is." The stepfather is the first to speak and to everyone's surprise the usually independent teenager makes no motion to object and settles into her seat.

"Hey, JJ," Kate leans in to whisper. "Meg goes to St. Agatha's High School. She's a year above Callie, but I know she'd be willing to show Callie around and introduce her to some people." Chris nods in full agreement.

JJ grins gratefully. "That sounds great." She glances over at Callie and motions the girl over. Standing reluctantly, her daughter wanders over. "Callie, Will and I have been talking and we've decided you're going to switch to St. Agatha's." And just like that all the progress JJ made at the grocery store today blows to smithereens.

"You're shitting me right?" Callie's tone causes the party to lose its jubilance and everyone to freeze, even Mike and Beth seem to somehow understand that there's tension because they glance over as well. "What makes you think you can just decide this?" She demanded in typical teenage arrogance.

"Callie," The blonde profiler sighed pinching the bridge of her nose. She doesn't want to have this talk in front of all their friends. This is supposed to be a light-hearted time. "We'll talk about this later."

"No we won't cause I'm not going."

JJ purses her lips together trying to keep her tone controlled. "Callie, we don't live in that district. You have to transfer to a school in our town and St. Agatha's is a really, really good school."

"Meg goes there." Chris offered.

Derek put in. "You'll love it." As a profiler, he can tell the teenager is about to blow. Hell it doesn't take a profiler to see that Callie is nearing her breaking point. She's going to snap any second now. He glances over at JJ to see if she reads this too, by the hesitance on her face, it's clear she does.

"And you can have your friends over whenever yah feel like." Will supplied hoping this will ease the blow.

Callie shakes her head. This is all happening way too fast, way too freaking fast. No, no, no. This isn't fair. These people can't just decide things about her life. Her school may suck, but at least she knows the people there. At least people there aren't all uptight Bible thumper freaks. "Sweetie," JJ breaks Callie out of her trance causing the girl out of her trance. "I know this is doesn't feel fair, but this is how it has to be."

"You know what? I'm done. This fucking sucks." Callie retorted dropping her plate into the rubbish bin. "It was so nice seeing all the people who fucked up my life and meeting some of you too." She storms off with Henry waiting all of a minute before following after her.

Rubbing her brow, Callie paces back and forth wishing she hadn't showed up those days ago. Fucking hell, how the fuck is this even fair? She rubs her brow angrily trying to compose herself. All she has to do is get her breathing under control. She walks around the kitchen feeling the anger radiate off her. This isn't fair. JJ can't just come into her life and expect to boss her around. Closing her eyes, Callie takes a deep breath counting to ten like Tanya has taught her.

"Are you okay?" Henry's voice causes Callie to open her eyes and nod tiredly. "Are you mad at mommy?"

"Sorta," the blonde teenager is evasive.

"Is it cause she made you eat all those veggies?" Her little brother questioned feeling sorry for his sister.

Callie sighed. "No, Henry, its cause–" she looks down at him and sighs again. "You know what? It is cause she made me eat all those veggies. It sometimes sucks eating veggies" Henry nods in solidarity. He can relate. Mommy made him eat five whole string beans once and it was practically torture. Not to mention the fact that JJ thinks she can run Callie's life without even getting any permission to do so. But, Callie refrains from telling a seven this.

"I hide my veggies in my napkin. You should do that." Henry advised seriously.

"That's a good idea." Callie praised liking it when he beams up at her looking pleased that he's managed to impress his cool sister. "How do you hide them from your parents?" Henry opens his mouth to tell her all his secrets.

"Bubs," JJ interrupts the pair as she slides the backdoor close. "Can you please give me a minute to talk to your sister…alone?" Henry pulls a face and glances at Callie for permission making JJ roll her eyes, but the teenager resists the urge to grin as she nods for him to go. He finds out he has a big sister and suddenly he's protective and willing to conspire with his sister. JJ doesn't know whether to be worried or amused. "Okay, so it's just us, you feel like telling me what's going on in that head of yours?"

"Not really," Callie reverts from being sisterly to an annoyed teenager.

JJ sighed. "Callie," she's never dealt with a teenager before. Well, except Meg, but not really; she hasn't known Kate for that long.

"I won't be able to see my friends." She lied; Ben isn't exactly a pauper, but he'd feel out of place here.

"Will did say you can invite them over here whenever you want." JJ studies her daughter trying to read the girl's face, despite knowing she shouldn't profile her. But, how else is she going to know what's going on in Callie's head because the teenager is definitely not going to tell her. "You think they won't want to come over here."

Callie's cheeks flush. "I never said that."

"You didn't have to."

"Don't do that." The teen objected softly.

"What?" JJ plays dumb.

"Don't profile me." Callie immediately averts eye contact with the profiler, but can tell her mother is surprised by her word choice and adds shrugging. "Jack told me about it. His dad makes – the same face you're making now and he reads his mind. Don't read my mind, JJ, it's not fair."

JJ smiled. This is definitely not going to be the last time she tries to get a read off Callie. Henry's a lot easier to read, especially because he's barely seven and she's known him longer. This is the only way JJ knows how to understand what's going on in the girl's head. But, JJ conceded, if her mother had been a profiler; she's sure it would've felt like the deck was stacked against her. "You're right. It's not fair. I'll work on it if you work on talking to me. I know this isn't about you seeing your friends. There's another reason you don't want to transfer. Come on, Callie, talk to me. I want to know why you really don't want to go to St. Agatha's."

"I don't think you want to know."

"What does that mean?" JJ frowned.

Callie shakes her head. "…nothing just forget it."

"No, no." JJ refused, she can't let this go. "You were going to say something so say it."

"Fine, you say you want me to tell you what's going on but you don't. You just want me to agree with you and act like everything's fine. When it's not, ever since you found out I was yours; it's like I can't breathe or have a say in anything that's going on in my life." The anger is vibrating off Callie and Will meanwhile turns down the monitor in Mike's room as to give the ladies some privacy. "And now you want my opinion? Like you care or something?"

"Your opinion does matter to me, Callie. Look I'm doing the best I can okay? This isn't exactly a walk in the park for me either. I'm sorry if you feel like I'm trying to control you, but like it or not you are my daughter."

Callie mumbled. "I don't.," the minute she sees JJ's face she regrets saying it. The blonde teen looks away feeling like the biggest bitch; this isn't JJ's fault. "…I'm sorry JJ; I didn't mean to say that."

"Yes, you did." JJ said in a soft voice. "But that's okay." Callie can't feel worse. JJ's being way too nice. Normally, her foster parents shout or tell her to get lost, but this…this disappointed tone is worse somehow. "We'll work on it and learn to get used to this, eventually it'll be more normal."

"Normal?" Callie repeated laughing and for the first time it's a genuine snicker. JJ's eyes light up at hearing this sound come from her daughter. She has Rosaline's laugh. Or maybe that's just the profiler's imagination or perhaps wishful thinking. "How could this ever be normal? It's too weird."

"It'll take a lot of time and effort from both of us. I get it. You didn't ask for this and the last thing you expected two days ago was to find out you were taken from me and given away. But it did and I don't plan on leaving you again, no matter how hard you try to fight it. You're mad at me and if I were in your shoes I would be too. But, I am trying here. Will and I only want what's best for you. If we thought letting you live on your own was the best option, then we'd be all for it." Callie looks curious. "Callie, it's not. You're only fourteen." JJ sighs. "I'm not the enemy here, none of us are. Can you give me and Will a chance? We want to show you that not all parents leave – I want to be your mom. I'm late to the party, but I do care about you. It wouldn't have mattered if you were mine or not. Your life matters. You're important."

"I've never had a mom before." Callie warned softly. "I might not be good at the whole daughter thing."

JJ grins reassuringly. "That's okay, because I'm pretty good at the mom thing." She sounds so confident and tilts her head to the side studying Callie. "Hey, look, I've never had a daughter before but based on my experience being the daughter; I must be doing something right if I'm already driving you crazy."

Callie can't help but laugh lightly. Her face suddenly becomes tight. "JJ, I really don't want to go to Catholic school…please don't make me."

"All right," JJ is thoughtful; she wants to ask why but can tell the matter is private. They aren't there yet. "You don't have to go to St. Agatha's, but you do have to go to a closer school okay? This isn't me trying to control you; we just can't send you to a public school that isn't in our district." The profiler swallows unsurely. "If you want, you can check out schools with me and Will."

"Long as I don't hafta go to church school, I don't give a shit." JJ raises her eyebrows causing Callie to avert her eyes downward flushing in embarrassment. She backtracks with a quick grin. "I ah I mean – I won't say it again?"

JJ scoffed as she teasingly shoves the teenager towards the living room. "Yeah, I believe that. Come on, if we let Will pick the movie we'll get stuck watching Cars again."

"Too late," Will grins as JJ takes her seat beside him. Henry is on his left comfortably squashed between Will and the arm of the couch. The rest of the team have somehow found other places either on the couch, sitting in chairs around the couch, or on the carpet. Too bad baby Beth and Michael are asleep. Callie watches the family playfully biker with one another. Will glances at the teen waving her over. "C'mon, little darling, you get to cuddle with your momma." Callie doesn't have time to react because JJ yanks her over sitting the girl so she's practically in her mother's lap. "Who's ready to watch Cars 2?" Will asked earning a groan from JJ and a cheer from Henry, who he proudly high-fives. Callie relaxes slightly. This is all so normal. She doesn't know whether to fear it or embrace it.


	6. I Lived

Thank you so much for all the reviews! We're going to have a tiny a time jump here. It will only be about a week in the future. So, this part of Criminal Minds is going to be at the episode Internal Affairs.

* * *

Chapter 6

* * *

"Hey, so Will's going to pick you up today."

"You have a case."

"I do in Texas. I'll see you when I get back." JJ sees the sudden tenseness in Callie's shoulders causing her wonder what the hell is going through her daughter's head. "Callie," the teen glances at her. "You know going away on cases is part of my job." Callie nods; this is just the first time JJ's gone actually real far away. "And I want you to know I love you to the moon and back." Reaching over, JJ kisses the younger blonde's cheek. "Call me tonight and tell me all about school, okay? I want to know everything."

Callie nods feeling embarrassed and confused all at once. JJ and Will explained their jobs a while ago; Will's is a lot better than JJ's considering he's home more. A weird sense of anxiety explodes in Callie's chest, something she's not used to feeling – especially about someone she's known for like a week. But, Callie's gotten into the habit of getting used to seeing JJ and now it feels like she's getting gipped.

"Callie?" JJ frowns at her. "What's going on up there?"

"Nothing, I'm just – new school, you know." Callie lied as JJ nods, reading the lie off her but deciding not to press the young girl on it. Unbuckling her seatbelt, the fourteen year old takes a deep breath. She's got this. "I'll see you later, JJ." Opening her door, Callie hesitates before adding. "I uh…I love you too."

She leaves a stunned JJ in her wake and strides into the building. The blonde profiler is brought out of her thoughts by the sound of someone honking behind her. She blinks. That same person honks again causing JJ to glance in the rearview mirror in annoyance. "Yeah, I'm going." The mother muttered feeling her chest swelter up in pride and tears rush to her eyes. She can't wait to tell Penelope what Callie just said. A part of her feels guilty, like maybe, she should sit this case out. But, in order for this to become normal; she has to really be at work.

Luckily the Headmaster's Office isn't too far from the main entrance and Callie finds it with little trouble. She walks up to the secretary. "I'm Callie Scott, it's my first day and I was told to come here."

"Hmm yes," the secretary looks up with a radiant smile. "I heard we were getting a new student today. I think you're the second one we have this month. Well, actually, the first new student was on a summer abroad trip so I guess he doesn't count, does is?" Callie nods politely. "Okay," the secretary grabs a sheet of paper off the printer handing it to her. "Here we go, Caroline ah I mean Callie. This is your schedule. If you have any questions just ask one of the kids. Everyone at Fortitude Grace is nice, I assure you."

"Yeah, teenagers usually are." Callie said sounding sarcastic, but not mean.

"I'm Mrs. O'Riley by the way." The secretary introduced herself. "My youngest son Wyatt goes here. He's in your grade too. Maybe you two will run into each other." Callie nods in the way kids do when they're bored, but trying not to show it; Mrs. O'Riley chuckles recognizing the familiar behavior. "Have a good day, Callie."

"Thanks." Callie turns and walks out into the hallway. She hesitates watching all the students passing by laughing and chatting, all friends. Callie sighs and looks down at the sheet of paper. Her first class is World History. _Great,_ Callie thought. _Another class on learning not to do what a bunch of old dudes did._ She shrugs and navigates through the sea of students in search of the classroom.

When she makes it to class, Callie goes over to the teacher. "I'm Callie Scott; I think I'm in your class."

"Hi, yeah I heard you were coming. I was worried you'd get lost. I did on my first day, heck I still sometimes do around here. I'm Mr. Matthews; I'll be your teacher this year. You're lucky we're still in the beginning or else it might not have been as easy for you to click with your group. I'm actually your class advisor, so you'll be seeing a lot of me." He seems young, like in his mid-thirties. "I'm rambling now, but Fortitude is a good school."

"I'm still adjusting." Callie answered. To everything, she wants to add but doesn't.

"Well, if it makes the adjustment any easier you'll probably have most of your classes with the majority of people in this room." Mr. Matthews motioned to the class. "It's a small school, in the ninth grade alone there are maybe one hundred students which is fairly large…well for here it is." The teacher is kind. "I divided the class into groups last week just give me a minute." He takes out his I-Pad checking it. "Okay, yeah…your group for the next four years is Aviva Stein, Alex Karvelle, Wyatt O'Riley, and Isabelle Friar. They're at that table right over there."

Callie's brow furrows. "The next four years?"

"Freshman year, you're assigned to a group. You'll meet with them to do projects that make you step outside your comfort zone." Mr. Matthews explained. "We keep you with the same people so ideally you'll always have a buddy to rely on. Oh and once a week, you'll meet your student advisor. Yours is Miranda Casey, she's a junior. The upper classmen do this to gain responsibility." Callie is awestruck, she's never heard of this. "For now, you can take a seat next to Mr. O'Riley." He points out the teenage boy who glances over.

"Yes sir." Callie goes over to the brown haired boy who sort of resembles a puppy. She glances around the table at her group members; there's a peppy looking blonde haired girl, a scowl faced punk of a boy, a girl with olive skin, and the dog boy. "Hi, I'm Callie. I guess I'm in your group." The words stumble out nervously.

"Great, cause we need an extra person in _my_ group." The olive skinned girl grunted.

"You don't need to be a bitch. I didn't ask to be in _your_ group." Callie answered.

Alex wriggles his eyebrows. "Hot chick fight, O'Riley, get some mud."

"Shut up." Both Callie and Aviva retorted at the same time causing the pair to look at Alex and then at one another silently communicating. Finally, Aviva nods as though deciding Callie has her permission to be there. On her part, the Callie shrugs and relaxes in her chair further impressing the four.

"Hold up," the peppy girl with white-blonde hair looks intrigued. "We're your group, Stein?"

Aviva turns to her friend glaring seriously. "Well, my parents didn't buy my admission here." Isabelle huffs looking a bit annoyed. "The Headmaster isn't related to me." Wyatt shrugs not bothered by her honest assessment. "And I'm not a charity case." This time, Alex glares at her. Aviva's eyes are filled with pride. "I'm just a genius."

"Yeah a bitchy genius," Alex agreed with a defensive flicker in his army green eyes.

"But still a genius," her response let's Callie know that they've had a similar fight before.

Wyatt is the middle guy. "Being humble would be nice sometimes, Aviva."

"Humbleness is for followers, I'm a leader." Aviva declared as the others take turns exchanging eye rolls.

"You'd sure like to think so." Isabelle mumbled into her water bottle.

Wyatt sneaks a peek at Callie who looks a little stunned. He leans in. "Aviva's kind of a bitch sometimes and isn't great when it comes to being…a person, but she's honest." He whispered as Aviva talks about what they're doing their first project on. Callie looks at the group watching as Alex chuckles at something Isabelle says and the slightest hint of a smile graces Aviva's face making her features seem almost angelic.

After twenty more minutes of reiterating the same words again and again, Isabelle looks up at the ceiling when the bell rings. "Thank God," she muttered gratefully as they all gather up their materials and file out following their classmates.

* * *

JJ drums her fingers on the chair's arm. Her thoughts drift to the kids, one in particular. She wishes she didn't have to miss out on Callie's first day, but this is her job. She can't choose when she wants to work. But, she wishes she could be here for her girl. Callie's only just starting to open up to them. Or at least as much as Callie can without relinquishing too much control. A part of the blonde wants to crack open Callie's file and learn it all, but she said she wouldn't. And JJ is a woman of her word. As curious as she is about Callie's past, JJ won't betray her trust.

"Are you okay?" Spencer's touch is what yanks JJ out of her thoughts and brings her back to the plane.

"What?" JJ blinks in confusion. "Yeah, of course, why wouldn't I be?"

Spencer stated. "Because, you didn't answer the first two times I asked."

"I'm fine, Spence." JJ assured him, feeling everyone's eyes on her. "Today's Callie's first day at her new school and I wish I could be there for it. I usually make a point to be home for the big stuff." Aaron knows how she feels. He hates it when he misses Jack's big game.

"Where did you guys decide to send the little piccola?" Rossi asked recalling their loud disagreement earlier.

"Fortitude Grace."

David commented approvingly. "Good school."

"Expensive too," Derek is the first to say. However, Fortitude Grace isn't any more expensive than St. Agatha's and unlike the church school they don't have uniforms. That was a huge bonus for Callie.

"Yeah, Callie's smarter than she want us to think." JJ said feeling weird when she talks about Callie like this, but it's true. Callie doesn't like to show people how smart she is; it's almost like she's afraid of people seeing her for more than a foster kid. God, JJ wishes she could've raised Callie from the get go. But, if Callie wasn't some sort of smart she wouldn't have been able to get a hearing without Tanya knowing. And the scholarship paid for almost all the tuition which JJ suspects doesn't happen often. "Let's talk about the case."

"Good idea sugar plum, because this one is a doozy." Garcia's face flickers onto the screen. "Lucky we have the Magnificent Seven here to save the day. You see what I did there my lovelies? There are seven of us so…"

Derek interrupted warmly. "Oh we definitely see, mama; beauty and brains are a lethal combination."

"Oh Chocolate Thunder you always know what to say to make a girl swoon, unfortunately these poor agents are in need of our help…" Garcia announced as she begins to rattle off details about the case.

* * *

The rest of the morning isn't nearly as eventful, but Mr. Matthews was right; Callie does have the majority of her classes with the kids in his class. Aviva is in all of them. And yet, she seems too concerned with raising her hand to notice Callie. Including History, Wyatt's in two of them, she has three with Isabelle and five with Alex who makes her presence as the 'new girl' known. When lunch rolls around, Callie wanders into the cafeteria feeling everyone's eyes. So far Callie's heard a few rumors churn out about her being a recently released convict. Honestly, Callie feels like skipping. She glances longingly at the door leading back into the corridor.

"If you plan on escaping, you should use that door." A boy around sixteen with jet black curls nods to the outside world and reality. Callie glances at him. "Just a suggestion," with that the teenager grabs a peach smiling at her with his grey-blue eyes twinkling.

Rolling her eyes, Callie takes an apple from the cart and studies it. She's pulled out of her thoughts by a familiar voice or rather a demand. "Callie, sit with us." Aviva leads the way as Callie follows after her. "Most of you have heard about there being a new student, well here she is." Callie raises her eyebrows feeling a little like an animal on display. "Callie, this is Grace and Mason." The red haired girl grins while a caramel skinned boy nods at her in a polite kind of way. He has his arms draped over Grace's shoulder tugging playfully on his girlfriend's locks. Aviva groans while her comrades roll their eyes clearly used to their behavior. "And you know the rest of us."

"Nice to meet you," Callie said as she sits down.

"I wish she could know me a little better." Alex said forever playing the flirt, despite that earning him a punch in the arm courtesy of Isabelle.

"You know, Callie, you're the talk of the school." Grace pushes Mason's hand away. "Everyone's been talking about you and how you may or may not have broken out of jail. Oh and there's another one about how you might be part of Witness Protection. We're all curious – we don't get new people a lot here."

Wyatt frowns a little. "We've only been going here like two weeks. How do you know that?"

"My sister told me." Grace responded shrugging. "So," her eyes fall on Callie looking similar to how someone peers at a celebrity. Callie squirms under her gaze. "Are you a convict, a murderer, or what?"

Aviva muttered. "Way to freak her out, Gray."

"I'm not freaking her out." Grace pouted. "Am I freaking you out?" She glances at Callie who looks confused while Isabelle watches the exchange leaning back in her seat amused and Aviva opens up her Kurt Vonnegut novel with a smirk. "See, I'm not freaking her out." The red hair looks so pleased that Alex chortles.

"Yeah, you didn't let her answer. But, you freak most people out so…"

"Shut up, Alex." Mason is quick to defend his girlfriend.

Isabelle puts down her milk carton. "Okay, guys, let's do something fun tonight. It's about time we do our thing."

The girl groans as Aviva continues to lecture them about the project. "Enough talk about homework, let's do something fun today. It's about time we do our thing."

"Huh, it has been a while." Aviva agreed thoughtfully. "For once, I agree with Belle."

Grace looks so gleeful which in turn makes Carson happy. Alex meanwhile is looking like he wants to cause trouble, so he turns to Callie. "New girl, Belle's known for this. Well, that and–"

"You finish that sentence Karvelle and I'll kick your ass." Isabelle grins like a Cheshire cat.

Callie promised. "She and I both will."

"Woah, easy babes, it was just a joke." Alex holds up his hands in defense.

"Hmm, I think I like you." Isabelle deduced as Aviva huffs. The white-blonde haired girl ignores her and turns to Callie curiously. "You're invited too; it'll be cool to have a new person. Do you live around here?" Callie nods almost unsurely, but recalls the brief car ride to school. "Great, the local cops are asses and have this rule – you know what? We'll show you later today, it's more fun that way. So you're in right?" There's something in her tone that makes Callie sigh. She knows a test when she hears one and this is a test.

"Wouldn't miss it."

Isabelle nods with a smile. "Don't tell anyone where you're going. Just say you're coming to my house. That's what we all do, my dads are never home so no one will suspect."

"You can tell your parents you're gonna do homework." Wyatt suggested.

"Okay, yeah sure." Callie nods as she stands up. "I've gotta run to the library for some books. See you later."

"Thirty minutes after school, here's my address." Isabelle hands Callie a sheet of paper.

Callie takes the paper and promises. "I'll be there."

As she walks down the empty corridor, Callie doesn't notice when someone jogs up beside her. She's even more surprised to find it isn't Wyatt or Mel and that it's Aviva. Everyone is intrigued by Callie, especially by what happened earlier today. No one has ever dared call Aviva a bitch to her face before. People usually fear…even some of the teachers are too and Aviva thrives on it, but Callie is different. The blonde teenager jumps, startled by Aviva who's almond eyes are becoming blended with maybe…is that compassion?

"So, you're coming."

"Yeah…do you have a problem with that?"

Much to Callie's surprise, Aviva smiles at her sharp tone. At least the tan girl knows Callie can take care of herself without needing backup. "Not even slightly." She pauses. "You don't have anything to prove, you know."

"I think we both know I do." Callie is surprised by the olive skinned girl's tone. It's almost nice.

"You're smart." Aviva decided falling into step with Callie. "You might just survive here." The girl tilts her head to the side. "Look, back in the cafe, Belle was just being Belle. I swear this isn't some freaky horror Hallmark movie initiation. Here, text me and my brother will pick you up on the way to Belle's." She hands Callie her number scratched onto a ripped piece of paper. "We aren't messing with you, you have my word and as bitchy as people say I am, I'm no liar." She leaves Callie's side walking back the way she came. Callie frowns wondering if Wyatt was right. Because from where she's standing, Aviva's the nicest of the bunch and yet she may also be the most frightening – what the fuck kind of school is this?

Will is clad in his D.C. Metro Police uniform when he pulls up to Callie's school studying the brick architecture with interest. This reminds him of the high school he went to. It didn't look as imposing when they saw it last week.

"It looks like a castle." Henry is curious.

"You're right, bud, it does." Will said as the passenger side door opens and Callie comes in with a Jennifer Jareau look. He puts the car in Drive, beginning to get out of the parking lot. "How was your first day here?"

Callie purses her lips together feeling hesitant. "Uh Will, I was wondering if I could go over to someone's house to do some homework today." The blonde teenager said with flushed red cheeks.

"A friend's house?" The foster parent asked.

"I didn't say friend." Callie backtracked. "It's just homework…so can I?"

Will heaves a sigh of relief. He and Cher have been sorta worried about Callie lately; they want her to have some roots to settle into. She hasn't tried to make any pals in their neighborhood. After seeing Headmaster Webster, they tried to set up a play-date of sorts with the PDA President Dalton's daughter Haley…but a half hour in and Callie 'ditched' to see Ben. They lied to the Dalton's saying Callie wasn't feeling well.

Henry meanwhile pouts in the backseat. He likes coming home and playing with Callie. All his friends think she's a good pirate for a girl. Will raises his eyebrows at Henry and then turns to the teenager encouragingly. "Of course yah can. Who's the friend?"

"Isabelle Friar," the teenager responded unsurely.

"Oh yeah?" Will swallows. He knows of the Friar girl from around the station. Due to her dads' being as rich as they are, she hasn't been arrested. Most of the force thinks she's funny, but the older ones think she's spoiled. Will's opinion usually dances back and forth.

Callie's brow furrows and she reads him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just surprised is all, Isabelle Friar's known around the station – for causing her fair share of trouble in town sometimes. But, who am I to choose your friends?" He said as he takes a right onto their street. "You can go kiddo. But, can yah be back by 9? I know it's an early curfew, but this is my first time doing this." Will glances at Callie feeling weird, but Cher's not here. Much to his shock, Callie nods that's fair enough. They then pull into their driveway and Henry kicks open his door stomping inside.

"What's his deal?" Callie asked turning to her foster father looking confused.

"Dunno, I'll talk to him. Yah need a ride to Isabelle's?" Will asked all the while hoping he doesn't have to get Henry in the car again only to drop Callie off when he's clearly pissed off.

The girl shakes her head. "No, my uh Aviva Stein's going to drive me." She's sent Aviva her location and it seems her brother is on his way.

"You have a friend who can drive?" Now Will isn't sure how he feels about that. He doesn't like the idea of Callie having friends who are so much older than her.

"No, her brother's gonna get me."

Will echoed. "Her brother?" He glances at the house wondering which kid to take on. Henry's inside and most likely gonna stay there for the rest of today, but Callie's leaving. Just as a Jeep pulls up, he chooses the latter. The young man driving has to be in his late teens and his passenger is a tan girl with an impatient look etched onto her face. "Ah, I don't know…" he murmured as he walks over to the vehicle.

"Will?" Callie asked following after him. "What are you doing?"

Her foster dad knocks on the driver's window causing the male to lower it. "What can I do for you, Officer?"

"It's Detective LaMontange and I need ta see your license if you're gonna be driving my girl anywhere." Will is stern with the boy who thinks for a moment before nodding in agreement and does as he's told. The Louisiana-born inspects it. "So you're nineteen, then Nathan. You have any prior accidents?"

"No sir," Nate shakes his head.

"You ever been convicted of anything?" Will asked while Callie's mouth is agape in shock and her cheeks burn red, this has never happened to her before. She starts to complain only to have Will wave her off. Nate shakes his head again repeating his last answer. "All right, you can drive her."

Callie scoffed. "Yeah, like he ever couldn't."

The detective shoots his foster daughter a slight frown. He and JJ are gonna have to talk about where they ought to stand when it comes to disciplining Callie again. Will hands the ID back to the boy. "Just keep in mind that if anything happens to her, I know where you live." Nate swallows nodding nervously. Will turns to Callie with a warm Southern smile forming. "Have fun, text me when you get there and when you leave darlin'."

"Yeah, okay…it's like Alcatraz here." She mumbled climbing into the backseat.

By the time they made it to Isabelle's house…which Callie has to guess is about ten minutes away. While she gets out of the car, Callie vaguely hears Aviva's brother order her to stay out of trouble and that he'll pick her up at around nine. Callie doesn't hear what Aviva says but she presumes it's a begrudging agreement. Looking at the massive estate before her, Callie can't help feeling overwhelmed. This is the biggest house she's ever seen and it isn't even a house; it's a freaking mansion. More out of not wanting Will to bug her while she's there, Callie sends him a quick text. Aviva watches her slightly all the while leading them up to the front door and knocks on it in a very Aviva kind of way, demandingly.

"I see you made it." Isabelle opened the door with a grin. "Hey guys, they're here. Let's go!" She walks out with a gang of teenagers following after her. The white-blonde haired girl turns to Callie. "So your parents believed you then?" Her question is casual, almost friendly.

Callie nods. "I told them what you said and they were cool with it."

"Awesome, let's go now." Grace appears out of nowhere looking enthusiastic.

"You ready?" Aviva asked.

"For what?" Callie follows the others around back and towards a canopy of forest.

Alex is smirking like a fox as he remarks. "You'll see."

"Let's take the short cut." Wyatt said as he and Mason make their way into the woods. Grace, Alex, and Isabelle meanwhile are following them with hesitant looks. Isabelle is mumbling something about this being the route of their impending deaths.

"Don't worry about Belle; she's just being overdramatic as usual." Aviva advised. "Just watch your step, the worst thing that's ever happened out here is a sprained ankle and that was because the guys were racing." Callie nods trying to maintain her composure. She's never been great at making friends. The two girls silently fall into step with one another as Callie maneuvers herself over countless mini dirt mountains. Aviva looks serious. "Your dad scared my brother."

Fully expecting her to seem annoyed, Callie glances at Aviva stunned to find the olive skinned girl appears more amused than anything else. "What? Ah, Will's not my dad. He's uh I guess he's my stepdad." Callie isn't really sure what to call him; technically according to the state of Virginia he's her foster father, but in reality he's her stepdad.

"You guess?" Aviva raised an eyebrow.

"It's a long and really weird story." Callie sighed, causing Aviva looks around as though to say they have a while until they get there. "Okay, don't say I didn't warn you. My birth mom thought I died and some wacko doctor gave me to a couple who decided they didn't want me when I was six months old and I wound up in foster care and two weeks ago, I tried getting emancipated and cause she never officially signed papers some judge decided I'd be better with her, my birth mom, I mean and yeah that's pretty much it."

"Huh," The brunette murmured. "And here I thought you were a jailbird."

Callie chuckles good-naturally and then dares to ask. "You won't tell anyone, will you?"

"Your secret's safe with me." Somehow, Callie feels like she can trust her.

"Thanks," Callie is grateful. She smiles slightly and glances at Aviva squinting. "You know…and I'm not uh trying to be a bitch, but you don't look a lot like your brother." Nathan has dark hair like Aviva, but he's about as white as a ghost with light green eyes to match. Nothing about them seems related, well except their banter in the car.

"No shit." Her laugh eases Callie's tension. "Nate's not my real brother. Well he is and he isn't, he's my step. Our parents got together when I was like three. I just think of him and Maggie as my brother and sister. You should see people's faces when we tell them we're siblings; it's hilarious. Maggie gets offended about it, but Nate and I think it's funny." Aviva chuckled while Callie nods wondering if people think she doesn't look like Henry's sister. The brown haired girl sighs. "I mean what else can you do? People are gonna think what they wanna think, but I like messing with them. It makes life more interesting."

* * *

JJ frowns. She expected Callie to call hours ago and honestly hearing Cal's voice would have been nice. Deciding that she can't and won't wait, the mother phones her daughter only to get sent to voice mail. JJ then decides to call her husband who answers on the first ring. The dynamic duo talks with JJ more or less ranting about Callie's lack of regard and Will explaining the teenager's made some new friends. _Okay_ , JJ thought to herself. _That's good, she's settling down some roots._ It would've been nice to have been there to meet them though. Forcing herself to sound chipper, JJ listens as her husband talks about his day and Henry. She attempts to talk some sense into her eldest son for a little while before he returns to watching Aladdin with Bash Casey.

As she hangs up, Tara looks over at her empathetically. "It must not be easy, having to leave your family."

"It's really not." JJ chuckled. "I'm supposed to say it gets better, but every time I leave; it feels like I miss so much of their lives. But by doing what we do, I know I'm protecting them so that makes it all worth it." The blonde looks down at her phone with a somber grin at her screensaver. Callie is reading a bedtime story to Henry and Mike with the baby in her arms and Henry attached to her side; they look so cute. None of them even know she took this photo. JJ's thinking about using it on their Christmas card. "I just wish my own kid would call me."

"Oh," Tara finally gets at what was really bugging JJ. "Why didn't Callie call you?"

"Will said she's doing homework with friends, it just would've been nice if she told me that. Don't get me wrong, I love that she's putting down roots, but…" JJ sighed not sure whether this even matters.

Tara concluded. "But, you wanted your daughter to tell you about her progress. That's natural, JJ. You're her mom, parents revel in their kids triumphs just as much, if not more so than their kids. It makes sense." A small grin creeps onto Tara's face. "Hey, Callie's just being a thoughtless teenager. It's kind of in their job description to forget to call their mom. And if it makes you feel any better, when she does call and she will, you can guilt-trip her into doing something you want. I can't tell you the number of times my mom guilted me."

"Ooh, I like the way you think Lewis."

Reid suddenly appears looking thoroughly annoyed. "If you two are scheming against Morgan, I'm in." He offered as he scratches his head furiously. Rossi follows in after him with a smirk in his eyes. "Apparently, putting itching cream in someone's shampoo is considered a hilarious joke."

"Don't tell me you two are going to have another prank war." Rossi sighed pretending to look annoyed.

* * *

For what seems like ages, the teenagers walk through the woods. Callie's not even sure if they are still in Stoughton, VA. She follows silently listening as Isabelle rants to Wyatt about the unfairness in her life while he listens diligently rolling his eyes at the right part. Aviva and Grace are arguing in that playful way friends do while Mason and Alex chat about something that seems private because she can't make out what they're saying. But, when Wyatt suddenly stops at the top of a…waterfall? How the hell does that work? And why can't anyone come out here? Callie wondered as she comes to stand beside Aviva.

"Why is this place off-limits?" Callie looks confused. That sounds like a stupid rule.

"Because the cops are jerks and like making our lives boring," Isabelle answered causing the other blonde's cheeks to flush a little. She's talking about Will. Callie never thought about it like that, but at this moment, she is. Will may very well be the one who's helping to enforce these ridiculous rules. Well, actually, since he works for Metro he probably couldn't care less which means he probably won't care if they get caught.

Wyatt said. "We don't really know why, it just is." His older brother happens to be an officer so he's kind of biased when it comes to the police force of Stoughton, Virginia. However, just because Jamie's one of them doesn't mean Wyatt automatically has to follow the rules.

"Because it's dangerous," Alex parroted with an eye roll to match. "Or at least that's what we've been told."

"And yet you come here anyway?" Callie asked.

"There isn't much else to do in this town. We have to be creative, make our own fun." Grace said with a sad look gracing her delicate features.

Mason smirked. "Oh so what we did last night wasn't fun?"

"Could you two stop being gross for five minutes?" Isabelle griped shaking her head at the pair who clearly enjoys torturing their friends a little too much. Callie resists the urge to laugh. As strange as they are, this group is definitely funny.

"I'm with Belle on this." Alex responded adamantly, although Callie doubts he'd be on Isabelle's side no matter what she said.

"Why do we bring them places again?" Wyatt questioned peering back at their group while the others murmur their agreement earning a punch from Mason in the process.

"Shut up." Grace smiled letting Mason kiss her before pulling back. "We all do this." She points to the waterfall they happen to be standing on. "It's scarier than it looks, but once you jump; it's pretty awesome."

Isabelle grinned as she pulls off her shirt revealing a bathing suit underneath. "Let's go." She dives in screaming in delight, Alex watches her with a strange flicker in his eyes. Callie squints. As much of a player as Alex Karvelle likes to pretend he is, she can tell he likes Belle. She just doesn't know it. He jumps in after her.

"Liberty!" Wyatt declared jumping in.

"Shall we?" Mason holds out his hand to Grace while Aviva rolls her eyes smiling slightly.

Grace blushes deeply. "We shall." They leap off together.

"You aren't scared of heights are you?"

"No…this is just – wow. Okay, just ten seconds of not thinking." Callie decided borrowing a phrase she and Ben use when they're about to do something really stupid. She goes off the edge, plunging into the freezing water just a second later. "That was awesome." She revels as Aviva comes up a few feet away from her.

"That's just the beginning." Grace exclaimed. "We're following the river to this lake around the bend; it's so pretty and cool. Oh, it's my happy place. We found it, what was it? Three years ago?" The others mumble their agreement all the while letting the ripples steer them. "It's beautiful."

Alex teased. "It has magical properties that'll turn you into a mermaid."

"Don't be a jerk, Alex." Isabelle put in. "It's gorgeous and private and no one, but us knows about it. Well, the cops and everyone does, but we're not supposed to go there. Most people listen." She says this like she doesn't understand why people would bother with that nonsense.

"You're going to have to swim under the ridge but you'll pop out on the other side. It takes like three minutes if you're a halfway decent swimmer." Aviva said as the group of teenager swim to a small grotto. "Are you okay with that?" The others already seem to be diving under. "Look, it's scary at first, but you'll be fine. Karvelle," the boy glances over. "Let Callie follow you." For once, he nods without making a joke. "I'll go after you." Aviva is kind yet somewhat impatient at the same time further confusing Callie.

Deciding to repeat the ten seconds of not thinking again, Callie dives in only a few moments after Alex copying his every move. Despite the fact that Callie knows the trip itself is short, it seemed long somehow. When she finally pops up on the other side, she heaves in and out heavily.

"Ooh you made it." Isabelle is impressed.

"Yeah," Callie looks around a bit awestruck by the cave's beauty. This place is definitely out of bounds, she can't believe she's even here…in her street clothes no less. But, that doesn't matter. Oddly enough, Callie's only just realizing they're kind of heavy. "It's amazing." The walls are sort of intertwined into one another with an array of drawings on the wall.

Alex swims up beside her. "This is our place. We write our initials on the wall so we know where we began." He plucks a knife from an inner part of the wall. "You wouldn't believe how annoying it was to get that in here, but I'm an impressive person." Callie takes the object briefly glancing around until she finds a spot, her spot.

"Yeah, he almost dropped it." Mason called as the others laugh.

As Callie finished writing her initials and the sun shone down making the water glitter, it created an eerie shine over all the writing. It was unspeakably beautiful, especially seeing her name dance like that. Callie smiles as the group exchanges meaningful grins with one another.

"Wow," the blonde whispered.

"That's what we all said our first time too." Aviva remarked.

Wyatt glances down at his watch. "Crap guys, its half past six."

"Shit." Isabelle cursed. "We hafta get out of here." She dives down out of sight.

"What's wrong?" Callie asked looking confused. The girl thought they were having a moment or whatever and it was cheesy yes, but she's never had people show her something so…so amazing before. Well, one time, Ben brought her to an awesome ice-cream place, but that was different.

"It's 6:30." Alex looks worried. "Which means, the local cops are making their rounds…fuck; I thought we had their route down. Damn it, O'Riley you're the one with a watch. Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"Don't blame Wyatt, it's not his fault we lost track of time." Grace scowled at Alex.

Aviva added. "And we're all dead, again."

"Why do the cops patrol here?" Callie asked.

"Because the cops have an insane need to control everything," Mason grumbled as he dives down with Aviva and Wyatt quickly following after him.

Callie purses her lips together, she can't get in trouble with cops her first month in. That'd have to be some sort of record. Tanya would kill her. "Then why don't we stay here? Hide out?" She suggested hopefully.

"All our crap is up there." Alex said as he disappears from sight.

"Just follow me, okay? Shit – this was supposed to be fun." Grace whined as she grabs Callie's hand damn near dragging her into the water without the blonde even thinking to take a breath first. When they finally popped up on the other side she's surprised to see everyone is still there, waiting. At first Callie's confused, the way they all vanished from the caves she thought they'd make a break for it first chance they got. And that's when she sees two officers staring down at them looking mildly annoyed.

"We…are in so much trouble." Aviva breathed.

Officer Erin Booth agreed. "Yeah, you are. Everyone out," she motions. "Now!" She barked and with that the teenagers file out of the water. "If any of you has any sense, you won't say another word until we get to the station and call your parents. Let's go – Parker, you take the boys and I'll take the girls." She offers to her fellow officer who shrugs as he motions for the guys to follow him which they do albeit reluctantly. Erin turns to the girls. "Get your clothes on and let's go, girls. You've got some calls to make."


	7. Over My Head

Thank you for the awesome reviews and favorites! This story is a work in progress. I have a vague idea as to the direction I want to take this story, but any tips or suggestions are always welcome.

* * *

Chapter 7

* * *

Callie leans against the wall. They'd been waiting so long in the station her hair is now only damp. Not surprisingly, they complied with Officer Booth and Officer Parker Bagley's orders to sit while they call their parents. Alex got the boot beforehand, something Callie is annoyed about, but doesn't voice. Wyatt is the first to be freed – reluctantly departing with his irritated brother. Then Grace's parents arrived with a no-fuss attitude and as they were leaving, Mason's mom came storming in like a hurricane. Mason turned red as Harmony Blake nee Burke insulted the arresting officers and then all hell broke loose when his dad Leon Burke strolled in. His parents got into a screaming match loud enough to cause some cops escort them out. In doing so, they nearly collided into Aviva's stepmom, Pam who quietly spoke to the cops and then left with her daughter. The lingering duo sits on the bench dejected, wanting to be anywhere else.

"Where're your parents anyway?" Isabelle asked breaking the silence.

"Don't know," Callie can only presume Will's going to come. He did say he'd be there shortly. That was it. He didn't seem too mad or anything, just…neutral, forcefully calm. She glances at her comrade. "Where're yours?"

Isabelle pulls a face. "Daddy's in Aspen with his boyfriend and dad's working in Dubai."

"That must suck, having divorced parents."

"Who said anything about them being divorced?" Isabelle asked more saying it to see Callie's reaction and squints when the other blonde doesn't react. Callie turns to see if Belle is bullshitting her. Upon seeing she's serious, Callie stares back down at her shoes a little awestruck. She's never met anyone as blunt as them. Isabelle seems to sense this and takes pity. "Hey, we all have our own crap right?"

Callie nods. "Yeah," she drums her hands against her legs. "I guess we do."

Suddenly the doors burst open to an imposing man dressed in a tux strides into the station. Callie recognizes him from the movies' that's Pierce Friar. Another man, with auburn tinted hair is behind him annoyed. That must be Mitchell Holt-Friar; he's a big shot producer. Isabelle looks stunned and then grins before sauntering over to her dads. Pierce talks to the officers while Mitchell scolds Isabelle awkwardly. Callie watches them for a minute before her boredom gets the best of her and she looks around the station. Her eyes fall on the revolving doors as Isabelle and her dads leave Alex comes strutting in. Callie's eyes stay on him as he leaves a coffee on who she assumes is his dad's desk and lingers there as though waiting for some sort of acknowledgement. Upon hearing a grunt in return, Alex walks over to her and plops down with a tight, very un-Alex look.

"How're you doing, new girl?"

"How do you think? You got a pass and the rest of us are screwed." Callie can only guess Will's reaction. He's going to want her to go. And honestly, she doesn't blame him. Callie's been through this before. "And I know why," Alex cocks his head to the side wanting to hear her thoughts. "Your dad's a cop."

Alex continues wearing his thoughtful grimace. "Yeah so when I get in trouble, he's twice as much of a dick about it. You don't know what he's really…" Alex sighs as he tries and fails to control himself. "Hey, sorry we got busted the first time you chilled with us, but you had fun right?" The curly haired blonde rolls her eyes causing Alex to scoff in frustration. "I don't get why you're freaking out. Your parents probably won't even care."

"Well, I wouldn't know. I haven't been with them long enough to know them yet." Callie snapped before she can stop herself causing Alex's eyes to widen.

"What'd you say?" His mouth falls open as the pieces fit together. "Wait, are you…" before he can ask the question Alex is yanked out of the chair by his collar. He squirms trying to get loose while Callie's fist clenches.

A burly man with graying brown curls is glaring controlled daggers. "What do you think you're doing, son? I don't know how many times I have to tell you that this," he gestures to the police station, "is not a playground. This is where I work and that girl you're talking to is in some serious trouble. Now get on home or you'll be in trouble too big guy." He ordered sounding…well fake. Callie's heard this obscure sugary sweet Father Knows Best tone a lot in her life, she can tell the difference between a dick putting on a show and when a dad is being real.

"Yes sir," Alex averts eye contact as he turns and walks out of the station with uneven breathes. He's going to be in for it when he gets home. Maybe, Jade can convince dad that she dealt with him. Out of all his dad's girls, Jade is the least cruel. Well, she's only nice to the twins…but you'd have to be a sick fuck not to be sweet to toddlers. She mostly ignores Sophia and pays even less attention to Alex. But, Jade puts up with a lot; dad cheats on her a bunch and he expects her to raise his kids – none of whom are hers. Alex and Sophia have the same mother; she took off seven years ago while Nicky and Jake's mom killed herself when they were a few weeks old.

Detective Booth sits at her desk with her fist clenched sharing a grimace with Bagley who shrugs as though to say what can they do? Frank Karvelle is a Lead Detective here. He's a superior. A part of her wishes she could make an anonymous call to CPS, but that'd get back to her. If Erin knows one thing, it's that everything has a way of being traced and she can't risk this. Being a female with this job is hard enough without adding more to it. She sighs as the doors gently open to, Will LaMontange, wearing a tired look.

"Fuck me," Callie mumbled looking past him for the little guys and winces upon realizing her foster father must've had to hire a babysitter and then gone out to get her.

"Oh Callie," Will sighed as he goes over to her. "You sure work fast. So what happened, Trouble?" He seems amused and worn out all at once causing Callie to shrug. "I sure hope you have a better answer than that when you talk to your mama later." This instills a newfound sense of dread in the teenager who groans as Will goes over to Booth and Bagley. "Yeah, I'm her uh step-father. Her mama's outa town on business…" Will exchanges words with the pair, nodding and even chuckling. However, Callie notices, this all comes to a halt when Alex's dad comes stomping over. He begins a long tirade about lawbreakers and delinquents. Callie sighs falling back in her seat. This dude is just fishing to make an enemy out of her.

Their talk ends as quickly as it began with Officer Booth deciding as punishment the kids will scrub graffiti off the police's back wall. And after bidding their farewells, Callie follows her stepdad outside and into the car feeling a knot in chest start to rise. Their car ride home is silent. Will doesn't look at Callie; he's trying to figure out what to do next. He and Cher spoke on the way to the station and they've yet to come up with something. Picking up their kid from a police station is unfamiliar territory; they've had it too easy with Henry and Mike. The duo goes up the steps and Will has Callie walk inside first. She looks like she's about to pull a runner.

He shuts the door. Callie stands awkwardly as Will drops his keys onto the shelf. The teen sighed finally getting her stepfather's attention. "Will, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…I didn't – I just wanted to have some fun. I didn't know how much trouble we'd get in. All we did was swim. It wasn't anything crazy. It was actually fun."

"I get that. I do." He answered. "I mean I was your age once too and…ah look, I'm glad you're having fun. I want you to have fun and make friends, but rules are rules and not swimming in that lake is one of them." Callie nods pensively while keeping her gaze firmly focused on the ground. Will studies her. "All right, so we're squared then, no more swimming there?" The teenager sighs nodding reluctantly. "Good, okay then. So what're you thinkin' for dinner? I'm leaning towards pizza, but I won't say no to Chinese if that's what you want."

"Wait," she holds up a hand still processing the mild lecture. "That's it?"

"What else were you expecting?" Will is curious. Maybe he can take one of her ideas and use that to punish her; it just isn't easy disciplining a kid when you have literally no back history with them.

Callie shrugs. "I dunno, for you to yell or kick me out or something."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I don't want to know what the 'or something' is but I ain't gonna kick yah out and we'll put yelling on the back burner. Your mama and I don't like shoutin' hell, we try to stay calm with you kids, but I can't promise we won't let our tempers get the best of us sometimes." Callie nods almost reminded of when Henry told her the seating order. This feels sort of like Will is telling her how life with them is. "I can promise yah if that ever happens we'll always say sorry. Cher and I – we try our best. We'll do our best by you. That is my vow."

"I'll do my best too. I can't promise I won't yell, I get mad too." Her glint lets Will know she's only half-serious and he laughs. Callie studies him. "You're really not mad?" She finally asked clearly stunned.

Will plays the dad role. "I'm disappointed you felt you needed ta lie to me." He rubs the back of his neck. "How about we both work on trusting each other a bit? Now, I know saying that is a hell of a lot easier than doing it, but we'll work on that…as a family. That sound alright to you?" Callie nods as her stepdad takes a breath. "All right, so why don't you go change into something warm while I order some pizza hmm?"

"Yes sir." Callie responded respectfully.

"Sir? Now you're just trying to butter me up." He teased ruffling her golden curls. It's moments like this has Will wondering if this is what having a daughter is like. Sure, he loves his boys, but a part of him has always wanted a little girl. And Callie's a big kid, but she has her adorable moments. "You like anything special on your pizza?"

"Spinach, if that's okay." The teenager knows from past encounters with Ben that he finds spinach revolting and normally she does too, but if it's on pizza then it's okay. The rest of the time it's gross, like mushrooms.

"Of course it is, Trouble," Will has decided to keep that nickname; it suits her. "Half-spinach on a small pizza, Cesar salad for Penelope, and a medium half-bacon pizza." Callie guesses she must be grimacing because Will outright chuckles. "I won't apologize for loving bacon Trouble." He said more for his benefit than Callie who still can't believe Will isn't yelling at her. She starts for the door. "Oh hey Callie," she stops at the frame of the door. Yeah, she knew that was too easy. "I want yah ta call your mama and tell her what happened." He and JJ haven't talked about where he stands when it comes to disciplining her.

Callie pulls a face. "Why does she hafta know?" Somehow she doubts JJ is going to be quite as cool as Will.

"Well, first of all, she already knows. I told her the police brought you in. But, you're going to explain what you did that led to your…ah detainment." Callie folds her arms over her chest stubbornly. "And second of all; if you don't call her, she's gonna call you and you don't want that. I can't promise yah she won't be a little sour but I know she isn't one for kicking up a fuss on the phone. She prefers to yell in person." He teased half-seriously.

"But…you don't think she'll ground me, right? We already talked so I'm in the all clear and we're good, right?" Callie's confused as to who she answers to. In most foster families; she makes sure to stay out of the way and evades even talking to the parents, but Will and JJ are kind of nosy so it's impossible to avoid them.

"Ah, I dunno." Will winced feeling bad for leaving the kid in suspense. He has no problem punishing Henry when he acts up while JJ's gone, but with Callie; he's not sure if he's allowed to ground her. Callie sighs as she trudges away making Will feel even guiltier for letting this instability to resonate.

JJ listens nodding as Callie rambles out the events of today all in what seems like one breath. And the kid is still talking, not giving her mother a chance to say much. Whenever JJ tries, Callie rambles again; it's like having a conversation with Henry when he's trying to avoid being punished. JJ chuckles to herself. _Okay_ , she thought gearing herself for mom-mode. _Time to give her kid a chance to breathe._

"Callie, stop." JJ ordered softly cutting the teenager off mid-sentence. "Hon, I know this wasn't your idea but you didn't have to go along with it did you?" She waits until after hearing a sullen no. "And you knew that where you went was off-limits, right?" This time Callie tries to make up excuses. "But nothing sweetie, I agree it is a dumb rule, but it is still a rule. One you have to respect." JJ groans as Callie makes attempts to defend herself. The mother lets this ride only to frown after Callie cusses; not at her, but at the situation. "Okay, I know you're upset but you don't get to swear like that. Here's what's going to happen, you'll do the clean-up job and since this is the first time you've been in trouble with us, you get a pass." She sighs adopting a much lighter tone. "So, now that we've got that out of the way; tell me all about your first day. I want to know everything kiddo."

By the time Callie returns downstairs she's welcomed with a tight hug from Auntie Pen. Henry is already munching on a slice, even baby Mike is enjoying his cut up pizza pieces. Callie slides into a chair beside the techie who grins at her. She snags a slice looking around the kitchen table frowning. It's weird, but this moment doesn't feel right. Of course, everyone's smiling and laughing…but something just feels sort of off. Callie squints wondering what's wrong until her gaze lands on an empty chair and it hits her…she misses JJ.

* * *

Friday rolls around a lot faster than Callie thought. JJ came home the day before and as far as welcome homes were, this one felt awkward. Callie stayed almost too quiet. She feels weird about missing JJ and has thus far avoided her. She's fallen into a steady rhythm of going to school, hanging out with her sort of friends, doing homework with Aviva, and running. At first Will didn't like her to go on them, mostly because he thought she'd take off. But he doesn't think that anymore…or at least she doesn't make his hesitance for her runs so obvious anymore. He doesn't even secretly have a few neighbors watch her. Callie's thoughts drift as she scrubs the back wall of the station. Aviva, Wyatt, and Mason don't seem to care about doing work but Grace and Isabelle have made their disdain known from the very beginning. She frowns realizing it's been a while since she's seen Ben; they text, but it's still weird going from seeing him all the time to seeing him sporadically.

"So what do you say, Callie, are you in?" Isabelle asked mid-scrub.

Aviva nudges her. "What? Sorry, what'd you say?" Callie asked having half a mind to check her phone to see if Ben has called. Ben has a bad habit of taking off whenever his mother swings by for a visit.

"My dads are going out of town and I've decided to celebrate." Isabelle grins, deciding not to mention how they left the morning after she was detained. But, it was also the longest they spent any time together since the photo shoot in Milan last winter. Daddy is an actor and dad co-runs a magazine. They're busy people.

"What exactly are we celebrating?" Aviva has her eyebrows raised. She doesn't need another lecture from her parents about the friends she has, especially when Maggie and Nate aren't angels either.

"Don't know; life, beauty, pizza, free booze…take your pick." Isabelle offered, however in the back of her mind she's hoping they'll all just come. It gets too quiet living alone in a big house.

Wyatt's shoulders tense up. "I guess." Maybe he can bring his special friend.

"Way to sound pumped, Wy."

"Why can't we just hang out and watch a few movies?" Grace is the first to ask. She's not much of a party girl, hell Callie wonders how this strange group even became friends; they're all so different. They each have such weird contrasting personalities; you'd think they would all hate each other.

"Because we're young and single–" Isabelle suddenly glances at Grace who looks a bit insulted. "Well some of us are single – and my birthday's coming up." She whined pouting.

"Yeah, next week," Mason chortled as he continues to scrub the IT part of a word.

"You're throwing yourself a party…a week early?" Aviva quipped.

Isabelle declared arrogantly. "Um, yes, I only turn fifteen once and it should be done right."

"But, you aren't turning fifteen for another eight days." The tan skinned girl squints as though she's trying to figure out the missing piece to a puzzle. This action causes Isabelle to look away; she doesn't like it when Aviva reads her like this. It isn't fair that she's so perceptive. And no one is able to read her quite as well, except maybe Alex, but he's too quiet to ever consider gossiping.

Wyatt frowned. "We only just got off the hook with the cops, Belle."

"Oh come on, when do both my dads' ever go out of town?" Isabelle asked the open-ended question. The group is silent until Grace answers her – forgetting that this is one answer Belle doesn't want to hear.

"Umm all the time," the auburn haired girl remarked thoughtlessly. Everyone's eyes widen and they glance at Isabelle nervously. Callie meanwhile frowns, she hasn't been with this group long enough to understand their interesting dynamic. "Belle, I didn't mean it like that."

"Nice going, Grace!" Wyatt whispered harshly. The fact that Isabelle Friar's dads are gone pretty much all the time is known in their group, hell even teachers at school know this, but no one has balls enough to say it.

Isabelle's cheeks turn a light pink color. "Whatever, we can party the party next weekend." She declared looking away from the group and having a scowl form as she stomps away.

"We aren't done supposed to leave without–" Wyatt goes to stop her, but Mason takes his arm stopping the other male. Wyatt watches her go. "She's gone." There are times when Belle needs to be alone with her thoughts.

"Nice Gray," Aviva sighed feeling a sudden ache in her arms.

Grace apologized feeling guilty. "Sorry, it just slipped out."

"Am I missing something?" Callie asked.

Everyone looks around, sharing glances as though asking one another to take this. Per usual, Aviva steps to the plate while the others go back to cleaning. She steers Callie to an area away from the others. "Belle's dads…I think you know we're all kinda fucked up in our own special ways. We have our crap and we own some of them, but the real stuff; the stuff we pretend we don't notice…we don't talk about. Belle's dads being assholes is one of them." She said in maybe the most Aviva way possible. "I mean, sometimes we do, but unless she brings it up; we don't." Callie nods. "It's really messed up, but that's how we work."

"Isabelle doesn't like talking about her dads." Callie concluded making a mental note of this. Weirdly enough, Alex hasn't even called her out on being a foster kid…maybe he's decided he doesn't care.

"She doesn't like being confronted with how little they're around." Aviva simplifies herself. "Why do you think Belle tries to get into trouble?" And just like that, Callie realizes in the brief time she's been with this group she hasn't seen Isabelle's dads since four days prior. And she hasn't even officially met Alex's parents yet. The rest of the motely crew's folks she's met either in passing or because some of them, like Grace's, are too sugary sweet to even try ignoring. Even Grace gets annoyed with their overly enthusiastic ways.

As Callie mulls these things over, several cars pull up; JJ's is one of them. "All right kids, you're done. I hope you've all learned a very important lesson." Officer Booth stated doing her best to sound stern. She peers at the back wall, impressed. "Hey you guys actually did a decent job, nice. Maybe we should bust you more often."

"Like the police aren't lazy enough," Aviva mumbled matter-of-fact causing Booth to glare warningly at her.

"Mase, let's go man." Wyatt motions for the caramel skinned boy to follow, after kissing Grace, Mason follows his friend and the auburn haired girl trudges over to her mother's car still feeling guilty about what she said. Isabelle has somehow vanished, Callie notices. The others either aren't worried or keeping their concerns private.

A slight grin graces her face as she realizes, they're finally free to go. Callie's finding that most of the cops in her new neighborhood are kind of dicks. A few came out during their break to tell them what they were doing wrong, Booth and Bagley are nice and they're friends with cool cops it seems. But, the cop from that night, Detective Karvelle; he's just a dick with nice hair.

"So, did you learn your lesson?" JJ has to press her lips together to keep from smiling.

"I learned something." the teenager answered although she has to admit she gained a hell of a lot more insight into her friends than about following the so-called laws. Callie can tell JJ is mildly intrigued by her especially vague response so she decides to inquire. "What'd you do at work today?"

The older blonde has a feeling she knows where this is going and doesn't like it. "Mostly paperwork; we gave recommendations for a few cases."

"What were the cases you looked at about?" Callie tries to sound as casual as she can; she really does, but JJ's starting to find that none of her kids are very good at being tactful.

"Grown-up stuff," the profiler turns on her directional for their street.

Callie huffed sassily. "Ugh, JJ, don't talk to me like I'm seven."

"Watch the tone, young lady." JJ warned not liking how much she sounds like her own mother, which reminds the profiler that her mom, brother and his family are coming for Thanksgiving this year. "Hon, my work isn't okay for your ears okay? I'm not trying to patronize you, it's the truth – my work, what my team and I do every day…most adults can hardly handle it. Will and I see things we can't tell you about. I know you're very mature for your age, but your age is only part of why we won't ever tell you about our job."

"I know bad stuff happens…bad stuff has happened to me."

JJ purses her lips with a thoughtful expression. "Do you want to talk about it, baby?"

"Not really, but you want me to." JJ swallows wondering how in the hell her kid managed to pick up her mannerisms so quickly. "Look, nobody ever touched me like a 20/20 Special or anything like that." Callie's voice is soft, almost scratchy. She plays with the hem of her shirt trying to figure out how to word this. "I only stayed in one really bad home, I've stayed in places where the parents don't give a crap which I think is better than them being...well anyway, it was at this farm. I met Ben there." She half-grins. "The parents weren't – sometimes the Dalton's were nice and sometimes they weren't. I guess they were old-school strict." Suddenly feeling like she's under a microscope, Callie clams up. "I don't want to talk about it anymore. It happened a long time ago and I'm over it and it wasn't like a big deal, I was a stupid kid. I just – I don't want to talk about it okay?"

"Okay, sweets, then you don't have to." Luckily they're already in the driveway so Callie doesn't have to meet her mother's intense gaze. This is getting too Hallmark for her. The teen races inside, barely beating JJ who isn't too far behind her.

Callie asked stopping abruptly. "What's the other part?" At that question, JJ pulls a confused face causing the teen expand. "You said my age was sorta why you and Will won't tell me about your jobs, what's the other part?"

"You're our child. We would never burden you with a fear of living your life." Her answer is so simple yet at the same time profound. JJ's eyes flicker over to Callie who soaks in her mother's words with a hint of a grin . The profiler redirects her gaze back onto the road. She knew it was best to have her mom wait before coming out; if it wasn't for her new boyfriend Walter, Sandy Jareau would've moved in. "So," JJ gently shoves her eldest in the direction of her room. "We're going out to Dave and Buster's tonight. You just need to change and we'll take off. Will and the boys are already there. So's Rossi, Savannah, Derek, Tara, and Reid."

"What about the other people on your team?" Callie asked, more like shouted, from behind her closed door as she changes into sweats and a giant sweatshirt.

"What'd you say?" JJ asked, only moments after asking she fully understands what Callie said before. "Oh what, you like them now do you?" She called chuckling as her daughter reappears looking similar to a homeless woman with her wild honey roasted curls. Sandra Jareau would say the teenager resembles a drowned rat and wanting to be a less judgmental version of a mom; JJ smiles. "Garcia has a date with her boyfriend." Okay, Penelope is the one Callie will openly admit to liking. "And Hotch is going to Jack's parent-teacher conference. Well, I see you're all ready and comfortable sweets." The mother reaches over to pat her cheek.

With an easy grin, Callie's bright blue eyes are twinkling. "Uh-huh, I'm wearing my best sweats." JJ rolls her eyes looking pleased the teenager is starting to feel comfortable enough to tease them. "Ooh, shit, I need to get my car charger – for when I get bored."

"Language, Cal." the mother warned landing a soft pat to her kid's seat as Callie jogs to grab it off the kitchen counter where she discarded it this morning. When she returns again charger in hand, JJ frowns slightly deciding to lay down some ground rules. "Okay, you can use your phone for hmm an hour."

"But, what if I get bored?" Callie asked more trying to wind her mother up than anything else.

"You won't." JJ assured her.

Callie pressed on. "What if I do?" There's a twinkling in her eyes that stuns JJ. In this moment, she looks every bit like Robert – all this time; JJ thought their daughter looked most like her. But, there rare instances when JJ sees her past boyfriend and surges of guilt shock her; she has to tell Robert about Callie. Then again, since Callie walked into her life; it's not like she hasn't tried contacting him. He's been elusively busy. Callie frowns. "JJ? What if I do bored with all you old people and babies?" She reiterated.

"You won't. Rossi's daughter Joy is coming too. She's a journalist. I bet she has lots of cool stories." Her mother hands Callie her jacket ignoring the brief grimace of annoyance on Callie's face.

"What if she's boring?" The teen shrugs on her coat mentally declaring her need to be difficult. She's worked hard all day and now all she wants to do is chill out. It doesn't seem fair that she has to be social.

JJ steers her out the door. "Joy's a journalist. She's the opposite of boring."

"But, she's old so she could be boring. What if I just want my phone?"

"Then you'll have to suffer at a place with tons of arcade games and unhealthy greasy foods in silence, won't you?" Callie huffs as she slides into the passenger seat buckling her seat-belt. JJ follows suit on the driver's side with raised eyebrows. "Because if I see you on your phone for longer than that, then it's mine until we leave." Callie rolls her eyes in frustration. This is absolutely ridiculous. The teenager honestly doesn't understand why JJ is being so unreasonable about her cell. None of her parents friends care if they use their phone as much. It just doesn't make sense. "Don't roll your eyes at me." Her mother chided lightly. "Hey, I want you to socialize with the people you're going to be spending a lot of time with in the future. They're like family to me."

"All right, I guess if I really do get bored I can pull pranks with Henry." The fourteen year old said with a smirk as JJ nods relaxing before what Callie said registers and she shakes her head in feigned annoyance. Honestly, JJ would be worried if Callie didn't like spending time with Henry but this is better; she thinks. It could be worse. The pair could be at one another's throats for attention. But, Callie doesn't seem like the type who cares one way or the other about that sort of thing; there are times when she likes to cuddle and more often than not, times when she prefers her independence.

* * *

More out of nervousness than anything else, Callie stays glued to her phone. Everyone there is chatting away like old pals and the teenager still isn't comfortable with this crew yet. She isn't texting anyone, except to occasionally glance at the group chat Isabelle added her to. But, she does like flicking through her pictures. Frowning at one particular picture, Callie doesn't even notice Spencer come up from behind her.

"That's really good." He commented causing Callie to instinctively press the power button on her phone. "Did you take any classes at your old school?"

"Uh no, I just sorta…I like taking pictures – of places, I guess." Her shyness reveals more to the genius profiler who smirks; much like her mother, Callie doesn't particularly care for being praised.

This earns the attention of Joy. "You're a photographer?" She sounds intrigued and pleased all at once, a bit like Garcia when she found out that Callie played soccer…just like JJ. A tiny piece of Callie gets a little annoyed when everyone compares JJ to her, like she should be a pro soccer player or perfect. When she's not, it isn't that Callie doesn't like JJ; she sometimes gets confused about how she should act. It seems like everyone wants her to be a replica of her mom when Callie doesn't even really know her. "Whenever I do a story abroad, I never can get the picture right. Maybe one day you could come along with me and be my photographer."

"Where would you be taking her?" Will asked as he takes a sip of his soda.

"Don't worry; I wouldn't take your little girl to a war-ridden country. I'd probably just take her to Boston, you know to do a story on the Marathon Bombing or maybe New Orleans; do a revival piece on Hurricane Katrina. There's still a lot that needs to be done down there you know." Joy informed the Southerner who nods in full agreement; he remembers Katrina like it was yesterday. He also doesn't mind giving his kids some culture. "Or maybe Haiti, I mean their earthquake back in 2010 was…well a piece there wouldn't hurt."

"That sounds awesome." Callie's eyes are as wide as globes and JJ shifts in her seat. She doesn't like the idea of any of her children being far away from her, especially in a third world country.

Joy smiled. "We'll have to see about us doing that sometime this summer then."

"Hey," Tara's eyes are on Will and JJ who look increasingly tense. "Let's play the arcade games until our food gets here and give the parents a break." She added as Savannah reluctantly hands Mike baby to JJ who holds her youngest to her as though wanting to keep him young forever. Henry and Callie quickly slide out of their seats, followed by Spencer and Derek. Tara hangs back a second giving JJ's hand a squeeze. "I know that look. Callie will probably forget all about wanting to go abroad by the time it's May; don't worry."

"I'm not."

Tara nods following after the kids as Will wraps an arm around his wife's shoulders pulling her close. He kisses her cheek. "She ain't leaving in the moment, Cher."

"Why does she want to leave me when we only just got her?" JJ asked in a quiet whisper only Will can hear.

"She doesn't want to leave you." Will promised surely. "She wants to travel the world, just like a certain brave lady I know. Don't you fear Cher, Callie's a good girl; she isn't gonna just up and leave. I know we haven't known her long, but I think her urges to run aren't there like there were, even three weeks ago. I mean hell they're still probably there, but at least they're dormant. So," his voice rises as Savannah, Joy, and Rossi glance over. "Cheers for small miracles." In an act of solidarity the others clink their glasses. Joy seeming a little nervous about it than the others, mostly because in the midst of her conversation with Callie; she forgot the teenager was a teenager. And now, she understands JJ's quietness; if anyone had offered Kai a similar proposition eleven years down the road, she'd feel the same way.

JJ clinks her glass with the others still feeling the tension rise in her chest, the night continues on without any hitches. Everyone enjoys the burgers and fries and there's no more talk of Callie going abroad. Even Tara and Callie managed to hit it off and out of everyone JJ was worried Callie wouldn't click with the forensic psychologist. The teenager has openly confessed that Tara's able to read minds better than anyone and she talks like a shrink; two factors Callie doesn't like. As the night went on, she managed to become gradually more relaxed than before. Callie even mustered up the courage to join Reid's team in the prank war and prank Derek. Henry has not by his own real choice joined forces with Morgan. JJ's decided to play referee and Will…he knows this is going to end badly, especially when you have two brains against one brawn and a seven year old.

After bidding her parents and brothers goodnight, Callie waits a moment…then another one, and then half an hour before climbing out of bed and tiptoeing over to the closet. She yanks it open to find Ben sitting on the floor about ready to fall asleep as well. The blonde kicks him with her foot earning a grunt. Suddenly, his grey eyes open widely and the sixteen year old leaps into action damn near smacking his forehead on the ceiling of her closet.

"Ben? What the fuck are you doing here?"

"I haven't seen you in two weeks and that's all you have to say?" Ben rubs his eyes sleepily. He rocks on his heels trying to get the pins and needles out of his legs. Upon meeting Callie's serious gaze, the boy sighs. "C'mon you never used to care when I crashed at your place?"

Callie crosses her arms. "I live with feds now; you could get arrested for this shit."

"Don't be overdramatic, I'm a minor." Ben answered forever playing the cheeky pain. "Look, I just needed a break from everything okay?" He goes over to Callie's bed plopping down. "Wow, your bed is really comfy. How do you get up in the morning without getting all pissed? I mean this thing has to be a Bobopedic or something." Callie shoots him a look. "And you're mad, I don't know why, but you are for some reason. Look, I just needed a break okay? Things are really tense right now at Auntie D's and I couldn't deal."

"What's up?" The blonde asked sitting down beside him with a look of worry etched onto her face. In all her life, Callie's only seen Ben look like this a handful of times. There are times when Ben likes to disappear for a while, occasionally he goes to the nearest home Callie is at or he just wanders around until he feels less tense and decides to head back home. Ben runs a hand over his face. "We're family, Ben. I talk to you about my crap and you talk to me about yours, that's how it works."

"My mom's back…she wants me. This time I think she's serious."


	8. In Too Deap

Thank you so much for all the awesome reviews. I didn't think this story was really going anywhere but you guys' just me a new burst of ideas. Please, like this next part. It'll have a crossover and I hope a pretty interesting piece.

* * *

Chapter 8

* * *

"Why does she want you?"

Ben smirked. "Way to boost a guy's confidence, C." At his surrogate sister's gaze the older teen shrugs as he runs a hand through his dark locks. "She has a new boyfriend. I only stayed long enough to hear that the sucker has a kid and Leslie boasted about having one to impress him. Guess she wants us to pull a Yours, Mine and Ours with him." He licks his lips. "I don't want to go with her. I know how it'll end."

"I thought Diana had custody of you."

"I did too, but what she has is guardian-at-litem. I guess they have custody but not at the same time. Laurel says it means I'm not theirs until Leslie gives me up…and she'll never do that. Sometimes I wish she was dead, how messed up is that? Wanting my own freaking mother dead just so I can be happy? Fuck, I'm gonna need Cuckoo's Nest kind of therapy someday. I love her, but she ruins everything all the time." Ben admitted squeezing his eyes shut to hold. It seems like every time he gets comfortable, Leslie blows into his life like a fucking hurricane destroying everything in her path.

Callie studies him. Ben hasn't cried in front of her like this in a while, the last time he did was when Mr. Dalton burned her with his cigar and he wasn't there. He thought she stole money off him, but she didn't; Callie would never. A frown forms and she puts her hand over his. "If you wanna disappear for a while then…I can find some money. We can take the bus downtown until this crap blows over. I know someone we can stay with. Hey, you sorta know him too."

"As vague as that sounds, I'm gonna say hell no." He said as his best friend shoots him a scowl. "I was thinking about finding my dad. I heard mom once talk about a guy named Hodgins and Jersey, Virginia." With her lips pursed, Callie shrugs. She knows finding his dad has been hanging out in the back of Ben's mind. "If I find him, I'll have the dude get Leslie to finally sign the papers and then I'll be free to get adopted by Diana and Laurel or maybe emancipated." Ben forces himself to sound optimistic.

"Cause that worked so well for me," Callie remarked sarcastically.

"It kind of did." Ben reply is so soft that Callie strains wondering if she heard him right.

"That's what you want? For them to adopt you? Or get emancipated?" Callie can tell when Ben is trying to get himself to like something and now is one of those times. Ben has always felt like an outsider with Diana. Especially after the girls were born, they solidified the fact that he wasn't nor would be ever be Diana or Laurel's son.

Ben's lip twitches. "It's what I should want. Auntie D's been taking care of me a long time and if she doesn't then she'll help me find my own place and work. I'm almost sixteen, I could find work easy like at a grocery store or something. Anyway, I'm just aunties' charity case." He pauses. "I have to do this, C."

"I know that's why I'm coming with you." Callie declared knowing this is a bad plan, but not caring. If they get caught Leslie's going to get into one of her rages. She has anger issues. Not to mention, she's weirdly tall, maybe six feet while Ben stands at a measly 5'5. He's supposed to grow another few inches, but height is a touchy subject for him.

"You can't disappear like you did before." Ben plays the big brother. "Things are different now. You live with cops who'd track you in five minutes. I heard your parents talking to you before; they care."

"Diana and Laurel care too. They aren't going to give you up without a fight."

Ben resists the urge to raise his voice. "They don't have a choice. Leslie gets to keep me. Like I'm a freaking dog or something; it's her choice, not my aunts. Your parents get you for good and there's no question about it. But, Aunties' don't cause Leslie never gave me up for real and whenever Diana tried to get her to; Leslie took off."

"Would you quit being such a martyr and accept my help? Fuck being with you is like being inside a CW T.V. show, I mean come on Ben you've known me how long? You hafta know I'm going with you no matter what you say." Callie slips on her army jacket and shoves her sock clad feet into a pair of sneakers. In all of five minutes she disappears out of her bedroom only to return with a wallet full of cash. She turns to her stunned friend. "Okay, let's go. You know it'd be so much easier if we crashed at Bug's, but no," the blonde scribbles a note onto the dresser just in case they aren't back in time for a late lunch tomorrow. "You have to go and be your over-dramatic making a statement self." With that Callie climbs out of the window.

He follows landing a little awkwardly on his feet. "How am I overdramatic? Wait, whose money is that…you just stole from cops didn't you? Why is it whenever I'm with you, I do more illegal things than legal things?" Ben teased half-seriously. He jogs a little to match her pace ignoring the stings in his feet. "Oh and I'm just saying, but it's ironic how your parents are cops and you break more laws than the average criminal."

"Okay," Callie stops turning to him. "First of all, you're over-dramatic because everything you do takes way more time than necessary. Secondly, I break some laws, but not the big ones and to be a criminal you have to be arrested; I haven't been."

"Yet," Ben reaches over to ruffle her shaggy curls. "Shirley Temple's got nothing on you."

Callie said smirking. "Go screw yourself." She stops dead in her tracks studying him. "Oh and for the record B, you aren't a fucking charity case." Ben blinks. The younger girl is such a dork sometimes.

The dynamic duo continues on their trek unaware of the mayhem that's about to ensure. Actually, they are aware, but the real question is; how worried are they about getting caught? Ben is doing this out of a need to escape and Callie just wants to help her friend. After they purchase their tickets from an under-stimulated clerk; the pair boards their bus en route to Jersey, Virginia. It isn't a long ride; maybe two hours with traffic. At least they aren't going anywhere crazy. The pair are silent, each trying to sort out their very messy thoughts. Ben is wondering if he should even bother with finding Hodgins at all considering the guy is probably a dickwad. Callie on the other hand is realizing how stupid this plan was; the chance of them finding this Hodgins guy from fifteen years ago is slim.

"Next stop in Jersey, Virginia will be in ten minutes." The teens glance over, both are struggling to stay awake long enough to move. By having to sit down for a long period of time, they've realized just how tired they are.

Ben is doing a better job than Callie. He lets her sleep a bit on his shoulder for the next couple minutes before the bus lurches to a stop and he nudges her. "C'mon C, this is our stop." He urged as Callie in what seems like a zombie daze of sorts stomps out of the bus. Ben pinches her lightly as he tries to wake her up. The bus rounds the corner taking off yet again. He looks around for a coffee shop or…that's when his gaze lands on a diner. "Let's get something at ah The Royal Diner to wake us up."

"Ice-cream?" That causes Callie's ears to perk up, JJ and Will flat-out refused dessert tonight because they believe no kid should have too many sweets in one day. Ben isn't surprised when Callie runs over to the restaurant. She's always loved her sugar. Due to it being early in the morning, the diner is almost empty – well besides two couples sitting together. Callie plops down at the counter only half-hearing the door jingle open to Ben. He takes a seat beside her.

"What're you doing out so late…or early? I guess it's kind of early now isn't it?" Joanne is all smiles despite feeling her insides churn with concern as she peers down worriedly at the girl, she can't be a day over thirteen. And the boy looks all of fourteen with familiar eyes.

Callie is polite. "I uh my brother and I sometimes sneak out to get ice-cream for breakfast."

"Your parents must love that." Joanne forces herself to joke. She's not a sucker; feds have tried to lie to her before and they're better at it. Not to mention her college-aged daughters occasionally fib so these little kids are cake compared to everyone else. But, it isn't her place to call them on it. "Well, what can I get for you two?" She sighed.

"I'll have a chocolate milkshake, please." Ben said flashing a grin that stuns Joanne. She's seen that smile before. Blinking Joanne nods scribbling down his order and turns to Callie.

"Do you have pecan pie?"

Joanne answered confidently. "We do indeed, you're lucky we just got some out of the oven."

"Sweet, I'll have that and a scoop of vanilla ice-cream…please." Callie does her best to stay awake, she has to. She wanted to come on this with Ben and now she has to stay strong through it. Joanne nods walking off to chat with the FBI Dream Team about possibly finding these kids parents. Being a parent herself, Joanne would never have let her kids out alone at this age. Feeling eyes on her back, Callie leans into Ben whispering. "Stay cool, but there're cops behind us."

"How do you know?" Ben asked in a low voice. Callie frowns at him, she can sniff out a cop from a mile off; it's a gift. "Okay, I take it back. What're we gonna do?" Joanne brings over the milkshake and pie. Both utter thank-you before Ben turns to Callie whose nervous eating. "We can't cut out – that'll look weird. Fuck, we never should've stopped. Now we're never gonna find him, fuck me."

Callie thinks attempting to come up with a plan of escape. They're both yanked out of their thoughts by some lady grabbing Ben's face. "Based on the shape of your zygomatic and set of your mandibles; the likelihood of you two being siblings, even half-siblings is far from probable. I can't say with absolute certainty that you aren't related, but you're definitely not siblings." The woman declared as she looks into Ben's eyes, stunned. The lady turns latching onto a bearded guys face. "Huh, that's interesting."

"Uh Dr. B what're you doing with my face?" Jack dared to ask.

"What's interesting, Bones?" A man in a suit asked. He successfully positions himself in front of the door preventing either kid from taking off.

"Based on Hodgins zygomatic compared with the boy's there are definite shared genetic markers. I believe Michael Vincent has them as well." Temperance said with Angela's concerned frown matching Booth's. "Eyes are so important, people often forget but they are. Every eye is like a DNA print, they're unique to each person. In families, genetics can cause some to think a parent and child's eyes are the same when they're likely similar in color but different shades."

Angela prodded. "So what does that mean? Oh and sweetie maybe you want to let go of Hodgin's face."

"That means Dr. Hodgins is related to this boy either your brother fathered him which isn't probable considering he's been institutionalized for decades or and this is more likely you're his father." Her words make Jack and Ben look at one another as though trying to see a resemblance. Bones releases Jack's face to add seriously. "I believe my congratulation's is in order, Dr. Hodgins; you have a son. In some cultures bearing males is considered the highest of honors." Booth coughs reminding her that they have a daughter. "Of course these tribes are almost nonexistent now. A newly published article found female physicians statistically save more lives than male physicians."

"Thank you for that Bones." Seeley whispered as she nods proudly.

Jack rubs his beard. "This isn't – I think I'd know if I had another kid. Who's your mom, kid?"

"Leslie Grey," Ben has on his distrusting face. On her part, Angela gasps, she thought only Jack and Michael Vincent were capable of making that face. Brennan appears mildly intrigued as well and Booth is pinching the bridge of his nose. Things were just starting to settle down and now this. The kid seems alright, but…seriously? He looks up at the ceiling wondering, actually knowing, that God has a sense of humor when it comes to stirring up trouble.

"Leslie? I don't know any…oh wow, yeah I do. I definitely do." He chuckled. "That was one–" Jack hears his wife cough noisily. "But, that was like sixteen years ago and lemme guess you're fifteen right?" The pathologist eyes Ben who nods a little awkwardly. "Maybe I am your dad. We should run a DNA test to be sure. Hey, hold on a minute, where's your mom?" The man looks around curiously.

The teenage boy replied in the most evasive way possible. "She's home," Callie groans. That sounded too much like a lie. This is why they never got away with shit as kids, Ben can't fib to save his life.

"Where's home?" Booth interjected picking up on the boy's lie in a matter of seconds.

Ben and Callie exchange looks with the latter shaking her head. Making the choice not to bitch the teens decide to keep quiet. They're too tired to think anything through. Angela raises her eyebrows at the pair amused. She sees pieces of Jack in this boy, especially his eyes. Michael Vincent looks a bit like the boy too or maybe she's recognizing what she wants to see. After all, Angela does want another child.

"We're going to find out where you two are from anyway." Running a hand over his face, Booth sighs, they had only just got off work. "You might as well cut to the chase now." He waits, still nothing. "Fine, come on, let's go." The kids stay put offering one another looks of hesitance. Seeley frowns realizing these kids don't trust him. "I'm an FBI agent and these squints work for the Jeffersonian." He shows them his badge causing Callie's eyes to widen more so than Ben's. "Are you two hard of hearing? I said let's go. Chop, chop." With reluctance the kids hop down from their stools sharing twin grimaces. As everyone leaves the diner Booth snatches Callie's fork and Brennan grabs Ben's straw.

"Booth," Brennan urged offering him one of the evidence bags that happen to be in her purse.

"You carry around evidence bags, Bones?" The FBI agent tries not to sound too freaked out, but he releases Callie's fork into the bag. He figures they'll give Joanne a big tip.

Temperance relied. "Of course, they're useful in preventing Christine's snacks from leaking." She drops the straw into another evidence bag before neatly placing both items into her purse. At Booth's wide eyes, Brennan shoots him a look. "Surely you know these are the bags I use when packing Christine's lunch." Booth groans; Christine's teachers must think they're so weird. Bones shrugs, deciding to speak to Angela about his overreaction.

"I did not know that Bones…Bones!" Booth called dropping a few bucks for the kids and racing after her.

* * *

Penelope hands the menu to their waiter, Sean. The kid seems sweet and funny too. He's managed to tell a few jokes while getting their orders, a trait the bubbly blonde likes. She especially likes his name; it's a good name to have as an adult too. He looks about Callie's age, if not a few years older. Her only real problem today is the fight she had with Sam. His words are playing over and over again in her head.

"What're you thinking about?" Tara asked watching her curiously.

"Oh it's nothing," Garcia tries to find another topic. Her gaze falls on Sean who happens to be anticipating an order from an older couple. "Our little waiter is a looker isn't he? Maybe we should set Callie up."

Tara smirked. "Don't evade the question. What's on your mind? I can tell you're distracted."

"Sam doesn't want kids." Penelope gives it up. She takes a sip of her mimosa. "I mean, I never really thought about having them until after I turned forty and now that I'm near forty five," she coughs at her age. "I know I-I've always wanted them and kind of put it on the back burner, but with Sam I thought there was a possibility that someday we could have one or adopt or something. But, last night, he squashed that."

"What'd he say?"

"He loves me, but he never saw a future that involved kids."

The psychologist stays neutral. "That could mean he isn't ready." Garcia shoots her a look. "Look life doesn't work out the way we thought. Do you think I thought twenty years ago that I'd be working as an FBI psychologist now? No, I thought I'd be married with kids and my own practice. In college, I planned on being a school counselor. But, things changed. I changed." Penelope still looks hesitant. "You know what? I'm going to be a real friend right now when I say; you don't need anyone to do anything. If you want to be a mom, Penelope, then apply to adopt or get inseminated."

"Hmm, for a psychologist you're really pushy. I like that." Penelope said as she raises her glass to clink with her friend who nods shrugging in agreement. "So," the techie leans forward. "How would you feel about setting up Callie with our waiter?"

"And deal with JJ and Will's wrath for pimping out their daughter?" Tara teased. She glances at Garcia and rolls her eyes upon seeing the blonde is serious. The psychologist takes a swig of her mimosa shrugging. "Fine, but if this comes back to bite us; I'm blaming you."

Garcia eyes the boy. Although she's on her third mimosa, the wheels are turning. Her cupcake needs to have some fun. Suddenly a thought bursts in her head. "Wait, what if Callie's gay? Oh that'd be so adorable. Hold on, I'm gonna text her and ask. If she is, our hostess Sienna was cute." A slightly drunk Penelope sends off a text all the while batting away Tara's hands. She has to wait all of a minute before Callie responds. "Okay, we're all good to set Callie up with Sean. Weirdly enough, she accused me of being drunk."

"That is weird." Tara agreed and when Garcia's back is turned she motions for Sean not to serve them mimosas. It's a good thing she was the one who drove them here.

* * *

"They're in the DCFS system." Angela brings up the kids files. Ben's stayed in fewer homes than Caroline, but several months after leaving his last home there was an investigation regarding claims of physical abuse made by several teachers. "The boy is Benjamin David Grey, fifteen, his mother is listed as Leslie Grey and Jack Hodgins is listed as his father. Benjamin's maternal aunt Diana Cohen-Grey and her wife, Laurel Cohen-Grey are registered as his primary caregivers. Oh and the DNA tests are in, Jack is his dad. So, my husband has a kid he never knew about. I think Dr. Phil is laughing somewhere."

"And the girl?" Booth questioned waiting for her to bring Callie's file up.

"Caroline Scott, fourteen, she's…huh weird. Okay, so she was recently placed in the custody of her birth mother Jennifer Jareau." That's when Angela's eyes widen. "Oh my god! JJ has a daughter? I had no idea. Why was she in the system if JJ is her mother? I know JJ and she adores her kids."

Seeley stays cool even though he's just as confused. "I'll have to ask her when she gets here."

"He's mine." Hodgins announced wheeling himself into his wife's office. He runs a hand through his wild brown curls sighing deeply. If he had known about Benjamin sooner, he would've been there. "We ran a DNA test and that kid's mine." Now that Jack thinks about it, Ben has been cursed with his curls. Poor kid is never going to be able to run a comb through them.

"That kid's name is Benjamin David." His wife replied as Booth pats Hodgins on his shoulder before leaving to speak with Miss. Caroline Scott. He just bets she's as much a spitfire as her mother.

"Benjamin David and Michael Vincent," Hodgins tries it out. He looks at his wife hopefully. "They sound pretty nice together, don't you think? Like good names for brothers." A part of Jack is jittery with excitement while the other part feels guilty as hell for not being there.

"They do."

Jack licks his lips. "Angie, I know this was never in the plans. But, you know I can't just abandon my son. Before the accident, we talked about having more kids and this wasn't how we thought we'd get another one, but maybe's its fate. You believe in psychics so I know you believe in fate."

"I do believe in fate – and in you. Hodgins, I would never ask you to leave your son behind. Anyway, he's not just your son; he's my son's older brother." Angela tries to sound optimistic but on the inside she's scared too.

"You're really okay with this?" Angela nods at her husband. "I love you so much right now. I promise everything will work out. I've got to call Leslie and see about her transferring custody from her sister to us. Maybe, I can see about appealing to her better nature." Jack wishes he could jump to show his excitement. He wheels out of her office, failing to notice Ben behind a machine waiting for him to be gone before the teen heads into his…ah stepmother's office.

Ben's voice startles Angela. "You're his wife, right?" His tone doesn't sound angry, merely curious.

"I'm your dad's wife, Angela."

"That sounds weird. You calling him my dad." Ben admitted quietly. After talking to Agent Aubrey very briefly, Dr. Hodgins took him to the lab where the kid promptly left his 'dads' office. Ben needed a break, yes Jack's office is cool, but the dude was watching him like he was one of the bugs on display.

Angela hums. "But, that's what he is." The boy feels his cheeks burn. "Weren't you supposed to wait in your dad's office?" She makes sure to keep using the word 'dad' the way Angie sees it, the more she says it the more likely Benjamin may repeat them later on.

"Maybe," his grin is contagious and soon a smile spreads across Angela's face as well. "I didn't mean to ditch, I just felt kinda weird – like I was one of the bugs on display. It's really cool in there, yours is pretty great too." He glances outside the office with wide eyes. "You guys work in like a spaceship, it must be cool, coming to work here." That's what Michael and Parker call the Lab too. Ben's gaze falls on the screen where Callie's foster care picture is.

"It certainly has it's moments." Angela agreed.

Ben nods in agreement and then frowns the trademark Hodgins squint. "How were you able to find out who me and Callie are?"

"Your straw and fork had saliva on it and your DNA is in the system."

"Aren't you supposed to have a warrant before taking my DNA?"

The woman resists the urge to snicker at his suspicious tone. He sounds just like Jack. "That rule only applies to someone if they're in their home. You and Callie were in a public area, so it was fair game."

"I'll keep that in mind." Ben responded cheekily. "Hey, can I ask you something Angela?"

"Of course, honey." Angela finds herself liking this kid more and more. He looks so much like Jack, especially that wild mop. He must've been a gorgeous baby. Jack has auburn in contrast to Ben's brown; Michael Vincent got lucky to have her straight hair.

Ben swallowed. "Do you think Jack will get my mom to sign the papers?"

"Well, what happens after your mom signs the papers?" Angela asked in a careful tone.

"I guess my aunts adopt me then I'll be free."

Angela's eyebrows knit together. "Free from what exactly?"

"My mom," Ben said his answer simple and complicated all at once. "She only comes around when she wants something and I'm done. I love her, I do, but she doesn't care about me. If she did, she'd think about what I want and not just her. I don't wanna worry anymore about being happy and then her ruining it you know?" As he runs a hand through his shaggy locks, Ben sighs wishing this wasn't so fucked up. Now, Callie's in trouble and it's his fault. Fuck, it's all a mess.

She nods. "Can I ask you something, Ben?" The boy glances at her with puppy dog eyes. Now, Angie knows if she ever sees Leslie Grey she might slap her for making Ben look so broken. "Be honest, how would you feel about living with your father, brother, and I?" At that revelation alone, Ben's ears perk up.

"I have a brother?" Ben asked with genuine interest.

"His name's Michael Vincent. He's six." Angela takes out her phone walking closer to the teen to show him pictures of his half-brother. Without really meaning to, the pair sits down on her couch while Angela shows him several pictures of Michael Vincent. Neither of them notices Jack standing at the door. Almost two minutes ago, he was coming in here to tell Angie that Ben was missing and found this. Angela catches his eye and smiles.

"Angela? It's okay if I call you that right?" The boy asked as Angela offers him an encouraging grin, it's not like he could call her much else. "How did your ah...how did my dad end up in a wheelchair?" Not for nothing but Ben knows his mother and she doesn't go for guys who have issues. She's already got too many on her own to think about other peoples.

The woman suddenly becomes uncomfortable. That's Jack's story to tell, not hers. Lucky for her, Jack rolls into the room. "There was a bomb in a body and I was too close to it. I'm lucky I didn't die." Ben gawks at him with wide eyes. "I did sometimes get feeling back in my legs and I have on occasion walked, but we're not sure if I'll ever walk again. But, having Professor X as your dad might win you brownie points with the ladies."

"Jack, don't tell him that." Angela pinches her husband.

"Yes dear," Jack cracks a grin making Ben chuckle. They're funny. His father adopts a serious face when he states. "I talked to your mom and aunts. They were all pretty pissed," if Jack had been around and Ben disappeared like that; he would've been as well. "You scared them." Hodgins shrugged. "Diana and Leslie are on their way here. We'll sort it all out then okay?" The youngster nods. "Ben, I'm your dad and I-I'm sorry I wasn't there." The curly haired teen takes pity on him.

"That's okay." Ben's eyes are warm. "You didn't know."

* * *

There's soft music playing as JJ flips a pancake with Mike on her hip and Henry dancing around her. Will appears at the doorway watching his family. He smiles grabbing Henry from behind tickling him. His son laughs in return. The cop looks around for his foster daughter frowning when he doesn't notice her.

"Big guy, wake your sissy, she's been sleepin' too long." Will releases his giggling victim.

Henry answered. "I tried, but she's not there." The boy immediately notices a strange stillness enter the room as both his parents freeze. "What's wrong? I didn't…I thought she went on a run."

"Nothing, you're probably right." JJ forces out a smile as she glances at her husband who's already got his phone out sending Callie a text. The mother is a little peeved Callie didn't tell them she was going for a run this morning; they're definitely going to have to go over the rules again.

"Cher, lemme finish makin' pancakes. I gotta add my secret ingredient."

"Yay!" Henry cheered causing JJ to playfully tickle his side.

JJ rolls her eyes. "Babe, the secret is chocolate chips."

"Ah yes to some they may seem like it is, but it's got something else too." Her husband pulls her close landing a kiss to JJ's lips causing Henry to pull a face and for Mike to kick his legs in frustration. Here his parents are not even noticing how amazing he is. "Hiya little bud, how're you this fine morning?" Will easily plucks Michael from JJ who goes over to Henry stroking his hair adoringly.

A phone buzzes on the kitchen table. "Oh that's me." JJ goes over to it, a bit surprised by the person who's calling but pleasantly so. "Hi Seeley, it's been a while. How does Christine like the first grade? Oh I bet she's the smartest one there just like her mom. Booth says hi you guys." Her boys shout their greetings making JJ laugh in amusement. "So, do you need help on a case? Ah yes I recently found my daughter. Why? She's where?! Give her the phone." JJ strained to hear a mumbled refusal. "Callie, take the phone right now! Don't you 'hi JJ' me, what are you doing at the FBI? How did you get there? You did what? We're going to have a talk young lady. Put Agent Booth back on." The little boy's face becomes contort with worry. He hops down from his chair to check on his sister. "I'm leaving right now…Ben Grey is her friend. Well that makes sense, but I have the sudden urge to call my mother and apologize. I'll see you soon." As she hangs up Will catches her eye.

"What's going on?"

JJ pinches the bridge of her nose. "Callie and Ben decided to go on an adventure to Jersey, D.C. and Seeley found them at The Royal Diner. They're at his office right now. Here's hoping I'm calmer by the time I get there." She can tell by Will's silence he's doing the best he can to remain understanding. The husband turns the stove on low and goes over to her enveloping his wife in a hug. "I thought she trusted us."

"You know she does. Did she have any reason at all for doing this?"

"She was trying to help Ben find his biological father." Now JJ gets Callie was attempting to help Ben, but she had to know taking off without a peep was stupid. "I know she might've thought what she did was right at the time, but Will, this isn't okay. Her intentions were good, but that's no excuse."

Will questioned. "What can we do?"

"What do you mean? If Henry had done this in seven or Michael fourteen years down the road we wouldn't even be having this conversation, we'd punish him." JJ realized. "Callie's ours just like the boys; we have to start treating her equally. You shouldn't have let her get away with the cop thing before."

"Me?" His eyes are wide. "You've gotta be joking. Cher, I don't know where I'm supposed to stand here. I ain't her daddy. I've got not real claim to her." The truth lands heavily in the air.

The profiler inwardly groans. "You may not be Callie's birth dad but blood doesn't make a family. We have to start treating them equally or Callie will think we don't care and Henry will see a double-standard."

"So how long should Trouble be in trouble for?" Much to JJ's annoyance her husband smirks at his pun, however, after meeting his wife's gaze; he forces himself to become serious. This is, after all, a serious matter, anything could've happened to those kids.

"One week, but she's grounded to us. What do you think?"

The brown haired man rubs the back of his neck. "It's not the length I'm worried about. That girl is as strong-willed as her mama, I don't think she's gonna take too kindly to following us around."

"We need to establish ourselves as her parents." JJ replied as she flips a large chocolate chip pancake onto Henry's plate offering her son a gentle smile as she does so. "By being our shadow Callie will realize how much freedom she has when she misbehaves compared to the amount she normally has."

"This next week is gonna be hell on all of us ain't it?" Will groaned.

"Definitely, my mom did this to me once when I was fifteen and I remember hating it." JJ recalls the grounding, she had snuck out all night; in her defense, she had to see Pearl Jam.

He asked cheekily. "What'd you do?"

"Like I'll ever tell you," JJ winks at him making her husband's cheeks flush. She looks over his shoulder at their sons, Henry is pretending to watch T.V. but he's studying them. Callie's been teaching him how to read lips; a trait JJ would prefer he doesn't learn because he's plenty nosy. The minute his mom catches him, Henry averts his attention back to the screen. "Can you stay here with the boys while I get our grounded daughter?"

Will nods giving her a quick peck on the lips. "Sure can, hey, I like you callin' her our daughter."

"That's what Callie is to me; she's ours." JJ puts on her coat and grabs her keys, she then goes over to her sons. Henry pulls a face as she kisses him goodbye.

"Are you going away to save someone, mommy?"

JJ sighed. "No, babe, I'm picking up your sister. She got in trouble again."

"We really gotta do something about that." Henry murmured sounding older than seven and more like Callie's older brother rather than her younger one. JJ chuckles and kisses Mike's head before ducking out the door. The boy looks up at his dad wearily. "Daddy," Will peers over at his eldest wondering what Henry will say next. "Can we make the pancakes purple like they do at Jesse's house?"

* * *

"Why didn't you say your mom was Jennifer Jareau?" Booth asked finding it sort of amusing how Callie's eyes bulge at the revelation. "Oh, you thought you we wouldn't find out? Nice try, kid." The kid couldn't have thought she would get out of here without them finding her parents, not only is JJ a fed but Will is a cop. She was doubly screwed.

"BAU Jennifer Jareau, oh crap kid you're in trouble." Aubrey shudders at the memory of Agent Jareau nearly taking his head off when he 'accidentally' stole her lunch one day. It just smelled so good, he couldn't resist. The near death experience afterwards has scarred James Aubrey for life. "Your mom is one scary lady." Callie bites her lip. "You were smart to refuse the water, but my partner here 'borrowed' your fork. What kind of pie did you get? I'm impartial to blueberry, but raspberry is my favorite. Have you ever tried rhubarb pie? My girlfriend–" James hears Booth cough and cuts to the chase. "Here's hoping your mom cools down on the drive over."

Callie asked swallowing nervously. "She's coming…here?"

"Of course she's coming." James is a bit surprised that Callie even asked such a ridiculous question. "She should be here really soon."

"Did she seem mad?"

Booth takes this one. "You took off in the middle of the night and didn't tell them. I think they're past mad at this point." Callie hangs her head in guilt causing Seeley to sigh. He read her file. "Look," he sits down across from her sympathetically. "Moms and dads, we get mad sometimes, but it's mostly out of worry that our kids aren't safe and what you did last night; it wasn't safe."

"I was only trying to help Ben. He doesn't want to go back to his mom. She's no good." Callie's voice becomes soft. "She doesn't even like him. I can tell." Booth swallows thickly; Hodgins isn't going to like hearing his son got the shaft. "So," their gazes fall onto the teen. "So is Mr. Hodgins Ben's dad or what?"

JJ bursts into the room making everyone jump, especially Aubrey. Booth frowns at his partner who shrugs nervously. Meanwhile Callie is trying to make herself disappear into the chair. She's never seen JJ this upset before. Without giving it much thought, JJ goes over to the girl and yanks her out of the chair. "What were you thinking?" She shakes her not too firmly. "Disappearing like that? Your dad and I were scared out of our minds." It's a slip, calling Will her father one Callie doesn't correct her on.

"We'll just give you guys a minute to ah…you know for some family time." Booth swallows feeling unsure about intruding on this family moment, even though this is technically his interrogation room.

The irritated mother nods, acknowledging her colleague said something but too angry to speak. However, the minute the male agents leave, JJ directs her attention back onto Callie. She crosses her arms. "What do you have to say for yourself, young lady?" Inside, JJ is groaning. That sounded too much like her own mother speaking.

"I was just trying to help Ben." The blonde teenager defends her actions meekly.

"And you didn't think Will or I could help him?" JJ raises her eyebrows.

Callie replied. "I don't know. I didn't really think all that much."

"You're right, you didn't." The profiler is snippy and then sighs. "Callie, you have to start trusting us. We can't trust you if you don't trust us." Callie tries not to roll her eyes, but this sounds so stupid. She barely knows them. JJ's eyes narrow. She's done trying to play nice when it's obvious the teen could care less. "Do you have any idea how scary it is to learn you kid isn't where you thought she was?"

"No, but I don't have kids so…" there's a kind of teenage arrogance invading Callie's tone that JJ doesn't like; especially considering she just spent an hour and a half in the car. There was slight traffic.

"Don't be a smart-ass or I swear I'll give you one." JJ threatened releasing her daughter and then hugging her tightly once again. Meanwhile Callie frowns to herself wondering what the fuck her mom means by that and suddenly the penny drops. Her eyes widen, Callie's only ever been spanked one time by Mrs. Jenna McCall's, but Jenna wasn't mean about it. In his part, Mr. Dalton used the belt on her once. Callie usually stayed out of his way, well except for two times; when he belted and burned her. JJ sighs wishing she had some history with Callie. "I want to trust you, but–" she stops and guides a guilty Callie in front of her. "So I think you know you're in trouble this time right?" The question is rhetorical, but Callie nods. "From now until the end of next week you're grounded to me, your dad…and when we aren't around probably Penelope too."

Callie peers up at her. "What does that mean?"

"It means for the next nine days you're our shadow; wherever we go, you go. School is the only place you can be on your own." JJ borrows the words her mom used verbatim. "You leave my sight or Will's longer than it takes to go to the bathroom and we'll add days on to your grounding until this sinks in."

"Until what sinks in?"

The mother responded. "You don't leave without telling me or your dad."

"But, you would've called Ben's aunts." Callie complained. She's never been grounded in her whole life, sure she's been shouted and kicked out by multiple fosters, even burned but this feels different.

"How do you know? Maybe we would've let Ben stay the night. You aren't alone anymore, Callie. You have so many people who care about you. I'm not saying your intentions were wrong, but…you can't honestly tell me that you thought taking off without telling us was okay." JJ lectured sternly attempting to ignore the flash of sorrow that dances across Callie's eyes. At least, now she's getting it. She's learning what she did was wrong. That's better than the know-it-all vibes from minutes earlier.

The blonde teenager tried. "I left a note."

"Was this note anywhere we'd find it without looking?" The profiler waits until Callie looks away confirming her suspicions. "Yeah I thought so." JJ realizes she has to gain control before it's too late. "Will and I, we've been going at this all wrong. We've been treating you different than the boys and that isn't right. In some respects we have to because you guys are different people and we want you to express yourself however you want, but...I'm getting off track here. We haven't been treating you like our daughter and starting now that's going to change."

"Does it hafta start now? Can't it start later? Like, when I'm not in trouble?" Callie questioned putting on her hopeful, cute smile.

JJ resists the growing urge to grin back. Aubrey and Seeley can't help themselves. Somehow the mom manages to hang touch. "Afraid not, babe." She tweaks her nose. "You know what else? Needing help doesn't make you weak; it means you're strong for having the courage to ask for it."

Callie purses her lips together. "But, Ben had a huge problem and I wanted to help."

"Sometimes our big problems become smaller when we have more people to shrink them." The parent said doing her best to keep the tears inside. She refuses to let any of her children ever see her cry, JJ remembers witnessing her own mother sob once and it terrified her. "You wanting to help Ben is very noble, but next time, tell us before reacting. You scared us."

"I'm sorry." As though finally realizing and understanding the full capacity to what she's done, Callie has the grace to let her gaze fall to the floor guiltily. She never planned on worrying anyone this much.

JJ kisses her daughter's cheek steering her out of the room. "I'm just happy you're safe, okay?" Callie nods. "Now, let's go home before your dad goes crazy with worry."

"What about Ben?" Callie is hesitant. She doesn't want to just ditch her best friend. Ben's her guy. They're partner in crime, always have been. That's just how it is. Diana says they were probably siblings in a past life; Laurel takes a more literal route believing the Daltons scared them to the point of forever remaining connected.

Booth interjected honestly. "Until his aunts and mother get here, Ben's getting to know his father."

"So that curly haired dude was his dad?" Callie asked sounding pleasantly surprised. She didn't get any weird vibes from the guy so he must be decent and his lady friend seemed all right too.

"If by 'curly haired dude' you mean Doctor Hodgins, then yes." Dr. Brennan said as Callie pulls a face, this woman reminds her a lot of Reid only she's a lot more literal – if that's possible. The blonde teen wonders if the pair are somehow related, like maybe they're siblings or first cousins.

JJ's eyes are wide. "Jack is Ben's dad?" She squints for a second. "You know what? I can see it. Okay, now I know for a fact that Ben is in good hands. Jack;s a really good friend of mine." The profiler turns to Brennan wearing a serious grin. "Hi Temperance, how are you?"

"I helped Booth rescue me from a former assistant who we thought was clinically impaired and still likely requires psychiatric assistance, but he did not murder anyone so we're very happy in that regard. I still find the psychology profession a myth, however, it does have some merit." Temperance informed causing her husband to turn to her in disbelief. She can't claim she saved herself when he was the one who so cleverly managed to find her.

"You helped me?" Seeley's eyes are wide while JJ does her best to keep from chuckling.

"I heard about you getting kidnapped." JJ still can't believe the amount of times that's happened to Brennan. "I'm sorry we could've have helped. We were working a case and tried to get back as soon as we could, but you guys solved it pretty quickly. I'm glad everything worked out. How are you doing?"

Temperance shrugs off her inquiry. "Fine, I did not die."

"That's not what I meant, but I get where you're coming from." The profiler has known Tempe long enough to know the anthropologist will talk when she's ready. And she'll likely speak to Angela or Seeley. JJ turns to Callie. "Okay, sweets time to go." JJ claps her on the shoulder signaling for Callie to move.

"I'm still not going." The younger blonde trusts her mother, but she trusts herself more. There's no way she's going to leave Ben to the mercy of his mother and aunt. They've gotta be pissed.

JJ is firm. "This isn't up to you, Callie." She's done with giving into the whims of a fourteen year old.

"It is too." Callie whined. "You can't make me go home when I wanna stay here." Fuck. That sounded too much like a pout than a demand. The fourteen year old cringes realizing she's losing her touch.

"Yes I can, I'm your mother and if I say we're going home then we are."

Callie stays put regardless. "Are you gonna carry me out?" She ignores the intrigued look Dr. Brennan is wearing and the frown Agent Booth has on. On her part, Callie understands why Booth is scowling. He seems old-school where it's expected for kids to behave while Dr. Brennan is studying her like she's gearing for an experiment.

"If I have to–" JJ suddenly stops short and frowns. The blonde teenager is stubborn in her own right, but she's never outwardly rude. She decides to take a different route. "What's going on sweetie?"

"I don't want Ben to think I ditched him. He's my family." Callie isn't trying to hurt her mother's feelings. But, Ben has always been there for her. "You guys are too, but Ben was my first family. He's always been there for me and I've always been there for him. Please, understand that."

It comes down to Callie showing more respect that makes JJ relent. "I do understand, more than you'll ever know." The profiler thinks about her BAU family. "Okay, we can stay until Ben's family get here. After we're going home and you're going to bed for a few hours then we'll talk more about your grounding. Is that understood, young lady?" She waits for Callie to kick up a fuss.

"Yes ma'am."

JJ pulls her daughter into a one-armed hug. "It's like you're trying to give me gray hairs."


	9. Hey Brother

Hi thank you all for the reviews! I've always liked Bones and the characters in that show. I plan on refocusing this story back onto the BAU family though. Ben's character reminds me of someone I know and I felt I kind of gipped him in the family front. Oh and I want to remind readers that Ben was throwing possible ideas around as to what he should do next; he saw Callie wanting an emancipation and copied her. Oh and I planned on making Bug an older brother figure because he's in his mid-twenties by now, but they were put in the Dalton's group home together. I have an idea as to where I want a possible romance for Callie to go.

* * *

Chapter 9

* * *

"Are you in trouble?" Henry climbs on top of his formerly sleeping sister who groans at the weight being put on her chest as a result of the seven year old. It feels like she and JJ just got home like an hour ago. Now her little brother is sitting on her stomach peering down at her curiously. When they did, Will scolded her firmly in the midst of a hug before she was sent off to bed. "I think you are cause mommy and daddy are quiet." The mom and teen arrived home after Henry came back from Jesse's for lunch. They hadn't needed to wait long for Diana and Leslie, but Callie could hear them bickering even before the sisters' stepped off the elevator. Callie still doesn't know how it ended because she had to keep her stupid word to JJ and Will has her phone for the next nine days.

"Maybe they're taking turns with the family brain." As she rolls away from him this causes Henry to fall into the spot beside her. The fourteen year old suddenly feels bad. Henry's only curious; it's not his fault he's a little kid and no one tells him anything. She turns to the boy sighing. "Yeah, I'm in trouble." She said in a softer tone.

Henry commented. "I knew it." He pulls a face. "Your breath smells funny, bad funny."

" _You_ smell bad funny." She teased.

"I do not. I probably smell like grass cause I was outside. I think daddy's making lunch. You missed pancakes, so you should eat or else you'll shrink. Natalie said so." Henry voices his butchered facts. "What'd you do to get in trouble?"

"I borrowed some money and left to help Ben without telling the parents. We were trying to find his dad, some people don't have them and we wanted to find his. We found him in a diner. The pie there was really good; I wish I could've gotten you a slice. Oh and then they called mom and she came and was super pissed." Callie has kept an honest communication with Ben and he's like her brother, so she's going to do the same with Henry.

His eyes become as wide as saucers. "What kind of pie did you get?"

"Pecan," the older sister stated as Henry nods in approval.

"I like apple." He frowns looking every bit like his father. "So you stole mommy and daddy's money and left on an adventure? Like they do in Neverland?" Henry tries to see if he has this right. Callie nods making the boy's frown deepen significantly. "How come you didn't take me along? I like Peter Pan. He has adventures with Wendy and she goes on adventures with her brothers." Callie feels her cheeks prick guiltily. "I'm not a baby like Mikey, you're my sister; we're 'posed ta go on adventures together."

"I'm sorry; I wasn't trying to make you feel left out. I just didn't want you to get into any trouble."

A wide smile forms on his face. "That's okay." He leans in close. Henry likes telling Callie what goes on. No one else takes him as seriously as her. "I heard mama and daddy talking. Mom says she's gonna nail your window shut so you can't climb out of it." Callie's mouth falls open in shock. She's seen that in television programs, but it doesn't seem legal. "Dad said we can't cause the neighbors are gonna think we got someone 'gainst their will."

The teenager leans back in her bed. She can't believe JJ's even talking about something like that and with her being a fed too. Then again, the teen knows she pushed her parents too far and feels guilty about it. She doesn't know what it means to get in trouble here. Chances are they'll explain it to her when she really wakes up, but a part of Callie doesn't want them to. A part of her wishes she just knew what was going to be expected of her and that it didn't have to be so awkward sometimes. Callie suddenly glances over at her brother who's drawing invisible circles on her cover with his fingers. He has to know what it means to get in trouble around here. "Henry, you've been around here a long time."

"No, we used ta live in another house when I was little then we moved to this one before Mike was born. I got my own room now." He explained in a way only a seven year old could.

"Henry," Callie shakes her head; correcting him isn't important. "What happens when you get in big trouble?"

Her brother's face tightens. "Depends on what I do." The boy rubs his face snuggling into her who offers him a soft grin. "In big trouble like when I punched Zane for being mean to Finley, I had to apologize and I couldn't play with my toys till Sunday. When I got in big, big trouble like when me and Jesse and Finley didn't come in after recess and went to middle school – mom and dad made me swear not to do it again and it was boring being here."

"What does that mean?"

"I couldn't have recess at school for a whole week and after school I had to stay in my room till dinner without my funner toys. It was super boring." Henry shudders at the memory. As punishments go, Callie has to admit, JJ and Will know how to get to their kids. Following them around all the time isn't going to be easy and anyway if she starts to despise the grounding, she'll just ignore it.

Callie rolls her intense blue eyes at his theatrics. "Do you uh know what your mom and dad mean when they say I'm grounded to them? I mean that just sounds like freaking crazy talk right?" For a moment the teen forgets she's conversing with a seven year old, she's merely stating facts aloud.

"You just swore." Henry giggled looking around nervously as though expecting one of his parents to come in.

"Yeah whatever," the teen likes how Henry adopted her as his new idol. It's a role that she finds rewarding and challenging. Callie's found that Ben's little cousins don't see him as their brother nor has his aunts ever tried to get them to. Agent Booth mentioned that Ben has a little brother. Maybe now, that kid will think of Ben as his idol too.

"Oh good you're up." JJ's voice floats through the air. She presses her lips together tightly to keep from smiling at the sight of her children snuggling. "Henry, I thought I told you not to go in Callie's room." The little boy is quick to apologize and goes on his merry way. JJ sits down on the side of Callie's bed. "Sorry, sweets, I think he was worried about you." Now that strikes a chord with Callie, she never wanted to make Henry feel scared or anything like that. In fact, she hoped she'd be home before anyone noticed she was gone.

As he scampers out of there, Will comes in with little Mike in his arms. "You up for a late lunch, Trouble? How do you like grilled cheese?"

"It's my favorite." Callie admitted following her parents into the kitchen. Henry seems to have found his spot and Callie slides into hers while Will adjusts Mike in his chair. The baby gurgles happily at his siblings, kicking his legs laughing despite the awkward situation. Henry is either oblivious or deciding not to concern himself with matters pertaining to others…which would be a first on his end.

"Big fella, how about you eat yours in the living room?" Will squeezes the boy's shoulders.

"In front of the T.V. but that's not allowed." His eldest son informed with the hidden desire to want to know what's going to happen. Callie is his sister. He should know stuff; mama and daddy used to talk to him all the time and now everything's like a big giant secret.

JJ grinned. "Today it is, Bubs. Go on, baby, your dad and I need to talk to your sister for a minute."

Henry subconsciously glances at Callie who smiles at him and nods. He reluctantly takes the sandwich with carrots on the side walking off. The parents wait until they hear the plate lightly graze their living room table before turning their attention onto their eldest child. However, what everyone fails to notice is the seven year old listening at the living room's edge. Henry figures this is way easier than getting secondhand news. At least now he'll know what's going on around here; no one ever tells him anything.

"I think we oughta talk about what's going to happen." Will declared as JJ nods half-smiling.

Callie is nervous. She doesn't want to be in real big trouble. "What is going to happen? You said some stuff there, but…are you gonna kick me out?" The young teenager has a good read off her parents and knows full-well they have no plans on doing anything of the sort, but it's worth a shot in avoiding the weird grounding JJ said. Her mother couldn't have been in her right mind when she decided that.

"No, we'd never do that. How could you even think that? What led you to…I want to make something very clear with you, we will always want you; no matter what." JJ squints at her deceptive daughter who refuses to meet her gaze. The mother shares a look with her husband who looks amused. He'd personally prefer Callie trusting them enough to try to trick them. "But, I think you know that. Nice attempt at a diversion, so for the next nine odd days, you're grounded to your dad and me – and Auntie Pen too; if we're working and not around."

"That means you're to stay by us." Her foster dad tries to keep the awkwardness out of his voice, which he's finding is starting to become easier than before. He's gradually stepping into the role of Callie's dad.

"Seriously?" The teenager whined with wide eyes. "That wasn't a joke."

The profiler frowns. "No, Callie, that wasn't a joke – just like what you did wasn't a joke. It was serious, so you're grounded and in this case that means following us around."

"So, I'm basically a dog now?" Even Henry can tell that wasn't the best thing to say to their parents, he's gonna have to warn his sister on talking mean to them. When he does it, he gets sent to his room and sometimes daddy makes him write lines about using kind words.

JJ doesn't care for the tone. She doesn't remember being this bratty with her mom. "Caroline, this punishment isn't supposed to be degrading." Henry makes a face at the unfamiliar word. He'll have to ask Uncle Spencer about it later. "It's supposed to teach you about freedom and trust. Right now, we don't trust you to be on your own." That stings and somehow resonates with the teenager who swallows. "I want you to know that we're doing this because we love you, because none of would ever want anything bad to happen to you."

"You don't trust me anymore? So you did before?" Callie sounds shockingly enough, disappointed. No one, save Ben and Tanya has ever trusted her before. And to make matters worse, she didn't even know they did. If she had known from the get-go then she wouldn't let herself break it.

"The beautiful thing about trust darlin' is that you can earn it back." Will added.

"Sweetie, honey you can't disappear whenever you want and you can't talk to me like how you did at headquarter, there needs to be respect between all of us." JJ stated her tone becoming firm as Will peers at his wife wondering just what Callie said at HQ. He won't let anyone disrespect his lady ever. Callie nods. That makes sense. "Okay, so before we didn't really talk about rules and consequences; let's do that."

In true fatherly form, Will swallows. "I think yah know in this house we don't have a whole lot of rules. All right, so your mama and I expect you to treat everyone, specifically adults with respect. That's easier said than done cause some people in this world piss us off, but yah gotta hold your tongue sometimes out of respect." Callie swallows now that's going to be tough for her. "Ah, that brings me to another point; no drinking or doing drugs."

"Yes sir." She answered easily; never in her life has Callie done drugs before…as of six months ago, she split a can of Four Loco with Ben. They both felt sick to their stomachs afterwards which Diana found hilarious.

"On weekdays your curfew is ten on weekdays and eleven on weekends." JJ stated as Callie pulls a face. "Don't you give me that look, that's more than fair. Oh and when you do go out, you tell us where you're going and text us when you get there. It's important for us to know where you are at all times."

"That's kinda weird, though." Callie complained feeling uncomfortable with the thought of having to report to two people so often. She just doesn't see the importance behind their rules like they do.

The father sighed. "No, it isn't darling. It's our job to keep you safe. The world ain't the safest place sometimes so if we ease our troubles a bit by putting down these rules, we're gonna do it." The teenager dips her head in reluctant agreement. "It's all a matter of keeping the honesty. That sound fair enough to you little darling?"

"Is that it? For the rules, I mean?" The fourteen year old asked.

The mother smiles gratefully. "Yeah, sweets, it is. Now you tell us the rules so we know you were listening." To be honest, she and Will expected a lot more backlash and resistance when it came to this. JJ's profiled her daughter that isn't necessarily fair, but she can't just turn it off sometimes; Callie's strong-willed and prideful but she craves rules more so than she'd ever admit. At least that's what JJ is hoping.

"I'm not a baby. I know what the freaking rules are."

"Thank you for reminding me, no swearing either." JJ replied her gaze turning to the younger blonde. She rubs the back of her neck and sighs. "Cal, could you humor me please?"

"Show everyone respect, no drinking or drugs, I gotta tell you where I'm going and text you when I get there, and no swearing." Callie struggles to refrain from rolling her eyes. This is so dumb. She's never been someplace where so much was expected of her before. A large part of her is annoyed, but maybe a tiny piece of her likes it. "I hafta be honest with you guys and…and," she squints doing her best to remember. "Ah my curfew's ten during the week and eleven on weekends…cause Michael Schofield and Lincoln Burrows are prisoners here too."

The parents exchange looks with one another; they knew there'd be some resistance on Callie's end. At least she isn't completely storming off on them. She's taking in their rules with a reasonable dose of sass, which in some respects is a big improvement on the first week's behavior.

"All right, so you and I are going shopping–"

"I hate shopping."

"I know." JJ presses her lips together to keep from smiling at the pouting teen and exchanges a look with her husband. "Here," she takes the offered I-Phone from her husband and holds it out to Callie. "This and school are the few times you get your phone. It's just in case you get lost, which I suspect won't happen because you'll be by my side at all times, right?" The kid nods resisting the urge to roll her eyes at this ridiculous new standard. "But, in case something does happen; I want to know you're safe. C'mon sweets, we're gonna meet Auntie Pen and Dave and probably grab dinner."

Henry runs over to them. "Can I come too, mommy?"

"Are you sure Bubs? Your sissy and I will be walking around in lots of stores trying on clothes and you have your play-date with Finley in a little while."

"She can come."

"I've got an even better idea in mind." Will interjected. "Why don't we go to Sky Zone today?"

The boy's eyes go as wide as saucers. "That's freaking great!" He cheers happily scampering off to grab a pair of shoes leaving two flabbergasted parents and a cringing sister in his wake. JJ shoots her daughter a look.

"Yeah, that's on me; my bad." Callie holds up her hands as though deciding to take fault. Will rolls his eyes doing his best to keep from laughing at the abashed look while JJ sighs; baby steps. "Do I really hafta go shopping?" She feels a little strange about JJ paying for anything.

"Yes, you really do." JJ leaves it at that and goes to fetch her purse.

Her dad phones Finley's mother Annie checking to see what time they're coming over. Callie can't help feeling a little disappointed that her confidant isn't coming; misery loves company. However, JJ doubts she could manage the pair with them both looking to find trouble. Will isn't much of a shopper either. Before the mother and daughter head out, Will snakes an arm around Callie's waist pulling her back.

"Now you behave for your mama, Trouble." He pats her cheek affectionately. Callie huffs at being treated like a child, but a part of her likes it; no one's ever done it before. Sometimes it's nice to let someone else have control for a little while. "Cut her a break will yah? She was worried sick this morning and she wants you near her. If you behave real good; we'll see about ending your grounding early but that's only if you behave got me?"

"Yeah, I got you." Callie has to smile. Will is so much easier than JJ; she'll have to keep that in mind. Hopefully they end whatever this is by the time Belle's party rolls around or sneaking out will be her only option.

* * *

"No one knows how long I've wanted to do this."

Those are the first words Garcia says to anyone. She and Rossi are standing outside the mall and Pen's already bouncing up and down in excitement. Callie half-wishes Spencer had come too. As strange as he is, he always has interesting stories or facts…he would've kept her entertained. JJ has to suppress a smirk at the freaked out grimace forming on her eldest child's face. Shopping, growing up JJ didn't mind it. She preferred climbing trees as opposed to buying crap with her mom and sister. Ross was more of a girl than she was. After Ross died, JJ wondered if mom would've preferred she died instead. At least then she'd have someone to shop with. Now though, the profiler loves shopping; she could do it all day. Her gaze falls on Callie who appears already bored. _Well, at least this is a good punishment to keep in the back burner_ JJ thought doing her best not to smirk.

"That alone sounds like something a crazy person in a movie would say." Callie murmured while David stifles a grin and JJ warningly pinches her daughter's shoulder. "What? It does." The grumpy kid rubs her arm not really out of pain, but more as a ploy to get some sympathy from the others who shrug.

"C'mon sugar plum; let's buy you a whole new wardrobe."

Callie groans wishing she could've stayed home with her less strict dad and brothers. She could've gotten her dad to loosen the reigns and goofed off a little. Anyway, the former foster kid feels uncomfortable about letting them pay for anything. "I like my clothes."

"Oh come on, let me spoil you. I've never had a niece and the way your mom keeps popping out boys I think you'll be my only pumpkin." Penelope clasps a hand over her heart desperately. Callie frowns, she knows a con when she sees one and this woman is totally conning her. "Plus we'll get new stuff to go with what you have and new stuff to go with your new stuff." She bravely leads the pack into Kohl's.

Dave makes a hasty escape. "I'll be back. I have to get Kai's birthday present." There's no way he's allowing himself to become the honorary pack-mule for this crew. He only agreed to come in the first place because Penelope promised an evening of sophisticated entertainment – he should've known it would come to this.

"I'll go with you." Callie volunteered trying to slither away.

"Oh no, you don't," JJ grabs the hood of her kid's jacket. "Go ahead Dave." Nodding at them, the Italian disappears into the crowd; grateful he's found a proper excuse and that Garcia wasn't around to hear it because she would've insisted on buying Kai a present as well. "Cal, you're being dramatic. Anyway don't most teenagers like shopping?"

The foster kid shrugs. "I've never needed to before, most of the time I got hand-me-downs or crap from some charity church or whatever." Her brutal honesty strikes a chord with JJ who looks away guiltily. Callie licks her lips. "I didn't mean it like a bad thing. Look, shopping is boring to me. There's no adventure to it." She does her best to make up for her mother's evident sorrow. Sometimes they can all pretend what happened didn't and other times, the writing has attached itself to the wall somehow. "And I don't even care how I look."

"That's because you're already beautiful."

"You have to say that." Callie said rolling her eyes bashfully. "You're my mom." She plays with the hem of her shirt rocking on her heels; two tells that she's going to say something embarrassing or at the very least something that Callie herself finds embarrassing. "You know, uh people say I look like you."

The profiler squints. "Maybe a little, but you're your own person babe." Honestly, people have frequently said Callie looks most like her out of their wild bunch; Henry is a close second, but Michael has Will's eyes and his personality too.

"So since I'm my own person, I don't hafta do this…right?"

"No sweetie of course not; I'd never make you do anything, you don't want to."

Callie brightens. "Does that mean I don't hafta follow you around?"

"Already trying to get out of your grounding, I'm almost impressed." The profiler messes up her daughter's wild blonde waves. "But, since you don't want to go shopping; you'll have to be the one to break it to Garcia…even though she's been looking forward to this all week."

"You've had this planned since last week?" Callie's eyes are wide, a part of her wonders if JJ can see into the future or something. Maybe she knew they'd get to this point all along. The teen rubs the back of her neck shuddering at the thought of JJ knowing her future, because then she'd know about Belle's party.

JJ is one hundred percent honest. "Yeah, go on." She nudges the young teenager. "Tell your poor dear auntie you don't want to spend any time with her. Break her heart." Callie makes the mistake of glancing where Garcia is excitedly sifting through a mountain of clothes. She's bouncing up and down. Shit. Looking was a mistake.

"That's not fair." Callie complained. "You're using your Jedi tricks on me."

"My what?" JJ asked although knowing she has to stop Will from getting their kids addicted to Star Wars before they become too into the weird movie. She didn't understand the allure as a kid and now as a mother Star Wars bemuses her more so.

Her daughter sulked. "You're totally guilt-tripping me."

JJ tries not to grin. "I don't know what you're talking about, but you not letting Garcia spoil you will break her heart and since I'm too busy enjoying this; you're going to have to tell her." She nods in Pen's direction whose too busy sifting through a bunch of girly crap to notice them. Callie pulls a face at the clothes before burying her head in JJ's shoulder. The act alone reminds JJ of Henry; childish, but sweet too. She never got the chance to be parent Callie as a child, so it's always nice to see the little kid side of her. She hears the teen groan and muttered murmurs of annoyance. JJ ruffles the top of her head rolling her eyes. "Oh, it won't be so bad."

"Yes it will, I'm not gonna be able to pick out anything."

"I thought you didn't care."

"I don't." Callie mumbled. "But, I don't wanna look like a fucking dork." The blonde profiler nudges her with the trademark stern mom look. The teenager swallows hard. "I ah…me and Auntie Pen have different styles." Her mother's glare doesn't cease and she crosses her arms for added measure. "I won't say it again?" Callie offered smiling innocently causing JJ to roll her eyes.

JJ scoffed. "Yeah, I'm sure."

"I won't mama JJ." The teen shows off her cheek. A tiny piece of her likes calling JJ some variation of mom, it sounds natural…like they've been doing this for years.

The woman smiles as she remarks. "You do and we'll spend all day tomorrow shopping for me." Callie's eyes go wide; she definitely doesn't want to do that on her Sunday.

"Cupcake, come over here!" Penelope shouted from the other side of the store causing Callie's cheeks to burn as other shopper's chuckle at her expense.

"If you really loved me, you wouldn't make me go over there." Callie said hopefully.

"And yet," JJ rubs her chin. "The idea of you going over there is too good to pass up."

"Aviva's right. Moms are evil."

The blonde profiler sends Callie on her way with a playful swat. "And don't you forget it."

* * *

For the remainder of the afternoon and heading into the evening, they shop. Dave finds the perfect gift for Kai and Callie is forced into modeling an array of clothes she'll likely never wear – unless forced or bribed. The latter being more probable to happen in the future, JJ finds it both amusing and disheartening. She wishes she could've tortured Callie like this when her daughter was little. Oh she bets Callie was the most gorgeous tyke and probably a hell raiser as a toddler, not letting anything, even with the heart disease slow her down. The four soon finds themselves in the food court trying to decide what to have for dinner. They're all pooped.

JJ almost doesn't even notice when Callie begins to wander off. At the last minute, she takes her daughter's hand successfully stopping her. "Where do you think you're going?" The mother asked tiredly.

"Bathroom, do I need permission?"

"Okay I'll take you." She said standing feeling every limb in her body scream at her. How is it shopping for a few hours takes everything out of her? And yet catching bad guys doesn't take much if anything at all. She glances at her best friend hopefully. "Pen can you watch my bags?"

"Of course, ooh Rossi how would you like to be my wing man?" The techie is already looking around the court for the perfect specimen. JJ frowns, she and Pen are going to have to talk later about Sam. She was under the impression they were in a good place right now. He's a nice enough guy.

"Penelope, we're in a food court. The men you'll find here are one step above barbarians." Garcia does her best to keep from laughing at the look on his face. He sounds like a flustered dad. "I'm going to talk to Joy and see if she knows anyone worthy of you. For now, let's have …" Dave shudders at the thought of how these are made but his hunger is taking over. "Burgers, an American classic that I'm buying for all of you lovely ladies," JJ cracks a grin at the old charmer while Callie pouts at her mom. "Caroline, I presume you enjoy vegetarian burgers."

Callie nods. "Yes sir…thank you," she stands starting on her way until she realizes her mother is behind her. The teen's face burns a magnificent red color. She coughs. "Ah JJ I don't need you to follow me."

"On the contrary sweets, you're following me." JJ replied with a firm yet easy tone.

"You said I could go to the bathroom alone." The younger blonde complained distinctly recalling the rules set forth by her parents and deciding to call a spade a spade. This is total bullshit.

"That's when we're home." The profiler answered crossing her arms. "This is different. We're in a public place."

She snapped. "And what? I can't be trusted to pee in a fucking toilet!" It takes Callie a second to realize just how loud her voice was and another second for her to realize people are starting to stare. _Fuck,_ she thought wishing this stupid fucking punishment was over. It already sucks.

JJ suddenly feels her cheeks turn a pink color they've never turned before. "Watch it or I swear the next place we shop at will be Bath and Body Works." She warned feeling several bystanders glance over at her shaking their heads at her parenting. The mother in her resists the urge to tell them all to shove it up their asses. Screw the books and whatever else they tell you; JJ's decided she's going to do whatever feels right. Callie meanwhile feels her cheeks go ablaze at the thought of getting her mouth washed out. JJ sighs feeling guilty. "Sweets, for the time being you can't be trusted and that sucks but that's just how punishments are."

"I'm not some little kid." Callie grunted causing Penelope to politely ignore their conversation by pretending to look at something on her phone while Rossi gazes around the food court.

"Hey," JJ tilts up her chin. "I know you aren't a little kid. But, you are my kid." Callie swallows. "You're my kid who decided to scare her parents and you're grounded." The profiler adopts a serious tone. "And we already talked about what that means, so either we go to the bathroom together or you hold it until we get home."

Callie considers her choices, she could go about this one of two ways; accepting what's been presented or act like a little kid and have a tantrum. Deciding to go for the adult approach, she sighs reluctantly relinquishing some of the power. "Fine, let's go to the bathroom…together." The teenager gets up without really waiting for JJ who appears stunned by the kid's decision. She thought Callie was going to blow up at her.

"Hey Jayje," Penelope stops her. "If it makes you feel any better I was the same way with the Garcia's when they first took me in. Give her some time; Callie's only upset with you following through." JJ smiles gratefully at her friend, however her grin falters at the sassy tone a certain teen develops.

"Are you coming? Prisoners need their guards."

Rolling her eyes, JJ mutters. "Don't kill the child, just don't." She mentally counts to ten before walking over to her daughter smirking as a new thought bursts in her head. The mother takes Callie's hand yanking her flustered, incredibly embarrassed fourteen year old along. This is payback for being rude. Both of them know it therefore nobody has to voice it. David smirks, lunch and a show. This is great. The pair watches as Callie's dragged along leaving two very amused FBI workers in her wake.

David chuckled. "Who do you think will drive the other crazy first? My bets on Callie, she's the sassiest little piccola I've ever met." He suddenly wonders whether Joy gave her mom much trouble at this age.

"Don't count Jayje out so fast, she's sure to think up embarrassing things to make Callie go nuts. Poor JJ and Will were blessed with the boys and Callie's a blessing too, but her angel tiara only hides the horns."

"I doubt Jennifer was much of a troublemaker growing up."

The techie asked in between snickers. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I believe that rebellious youths often go on to have children who are twice as bad as they were; it's the wonderful circle of life. It gives parents a taste of their own medicine and the piccola is a special taste of stubborn." Dave rubs his chin thoughtfully. "Then again, JJ is like that too." His assessment has Garcia nodding in agreement as someone comes over with a trey of their food.

"Thanks," Penelope said to the woman who nods politely. "I guess all is fair in the world."

Garcia can't imagine the thought. Growing up she was a holy terror, if she ever has kids there's no way they could be worse than she was. She had a different babysitter every week. "Callie may be determined, but she's too much like her mother to be a bad kid."

"Bad oh no, that girl isn't bad." Dave pops a fry into his mouth. "She may give everyone hell, but she'll turn out just fine. I did." Garcia rolls her eyes. "They say kids with the strongest wills are intelligent."

"See, I was right. They are talking about me." Callie pointed out plopping back in her seat as JJ gently cuffs the back of her head. "What? They are." The teenager picks up her veggie burger and takes a bite. "I'm no brain like Uncle Spence, more like a good guesser and when I ask a question I can read them pretty good too; just like I can read my mom."

Everyone freezes, even Callie who stops eating for a moment before deciding to stuff more food into her mouth to avoid the topic altogether. JJ is the first to recover. "Oh so you think you can read me huh?" The mother tickles her eldest who giggles squirming to get out of the line of fire. "What happened to no profiling?"

"That's only to you, not me." Callie is all smiles as the FBI profilers and technical analyst look at her with raised eyebrows. The teen shrugs unapologetically. "I've got cops for parents; I need all the help I can get."

"And staying out of trouble wouldn't be helpful?" JJ questioned not quite able to keep a straight face. She swears this kid is going to give her gray hairs, she can bet she's gained a few dozen since Callie's come to live with them.

"It might be helpful, but it wouldn't be any fun." Callie slurps her milkshake with a glint in her eyes.

Garcia turns to JJ asking semi-seriously. "Are you sure she's not Will's kid?"


	10. Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now

Thank you for all the amazing reviews and suggestions! I'm definitely going to take all of those into consideration when continuing with this story. I hope you guys like this chapter! Please read and review! If you have any ideas for the next couple chapters please feel free to say so. I might just incorporate some of them.

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Chapter 10

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"I still don't understand your problem."

"I'm grounded until tomorrow, but tonight is Belle's party." Aviva doesn't look like she cares. Her thoughts are on the project they have to start. "I don't want to miss the first big party of the year. That's my problem."

Aviva sighs. "Someone should tell those starving kids in Africa to get over it."

"Shut up." Somehow Aviva always has a way of putting everything in perspective while staying sarcastic; it's a skill Callie usually finds amusing. "Maybe I'll be let out early on account of my good behavior."

Too be honest, Callie's been as good as gold. She even stuck by Auntie Pen when Will and JJ went out with friends last night. She could've snuck out to see Ben, but she didn't. From what she hears throughout the school day; he and Jack are doing okay. Diana, Jack and Leslie have come to an agreement; Ben is gradually going to spend more time with the Hodgins family. Starting tonight, he'll spend every weekend with them and after Christmas he's set to move in. But, he also has to go out to dinner with Leslie one night a month. Everyone, but Ben thinks that's a good plan but the fifteen year old is feeling overwhelmed with these newfound commitments.

Alex cut in. "The first real party was the weekend after school started." He's managed to appear out of nowhere, but is able to piss them off in seconds. "What? I'm just being honest. Look, I'm not going either."

"You aren't? What? Did your daddy forbid it?" Aviva teased with raised eyebrows. It isn't like Alex Karvelle to miss a party, especially one of Belle's parties. He likes to attend to make sure Belle doesn't get too slutty or drunk. In a sense, he's her guardian angel who always puts her to bed before she's gotten out of hand.

"Screw you, I've gotta watch Sophia. Nicky and Jake are staying with their grandparents in Charlotte." Alex said with a trace of nervousness in his voice. He'll have to sneak Sophia into Belle's party too – prop her in front of a T.V. Belle gets too rowdy at her parties. Lately, her wild stage has yet to taper off like it usually does. "Can you watch Belle until I get there Aves? Wait, are you going?" It normally falls on either him or Grace to watch Belle.

Aviva shrugged. "Sure, my parents are going to Saratoga this weekend and since Nate's heading back to school Mags is in charge and she'll be too busy Facetiming her boyfriend to care what I do."

"Her boyfriend's Wyatt's brother, right?" Callie questioned with her brow furrowed.

"Yeah, Brendan, the army one; he's cool. I don't know why he's dating Mags." Aviva chuckles understanding her sister would be annoyed by that comment while Nate would find it funny.

Callie shoots her a grin. She and Aviva have become the better friends in their group. The former foster kid thought she and Belle would've hit it off, but Belle Friar is too wild for her. And that's saying something since Callie Scott prides herself on being spontaneous. However, it seems like Isabelle has a death wish.

"You sorta met Jimmy when we got busted. He used to be all right. Now he's a grade A dickwad." Alex said as they walk outside where their respective parents are waiting or in his case where the buses are. Dad is a believer in his kids walking home from school; rain or shine. Thank God it rarely snows in Virginia. Jimmy Copeland used to be cool, but now that he works for the locals he's just as jerky as the rest of them.

"Is Wyatt going?" The blonde questioned her eyes wandering over to where Wyatt is laughing at something Zac Greer says. She frowns as the grin is wiped from Wyatt's face and he steps away from the handsome boy.

The tan skinned girl follows Callie's gaze. "Yeah, probably, he usually does."

"He likes Belle's parties the most." Alex groans feeling Aviva nudge him sternly. "What'd you hit me for? You know it's true. Wyatt loves going to Belle's parties. Doubt he'd ever admit it." There's something in his tone that makes Callie pull a face, like he's saying everything but nothing all at once. She crosses her arms feeling like an outside again. The others don't try to make her feel that way, but they have a history together. Callie feels that way at home too, like she's intruding on the perfect family. "If you really wanna go new girl just do what I do."

The blonde rubs her brow. "What do you do?"

"Sneak out, you gotta love a classic." He shrugged indifferently. Being a foster kid Callie can read people pretty well and Alex seems like he always is when he talks about his dad, tense. Alex smirks. "There's my bus, see yah – or in your case new girl; I'll be seeing yah tomorrow when your mommy and daddy let you out." He saunters off.

"Shove it up your ass, Karvelle." Callie shouted earning the gazes of bystanders, in particular, frowns from adults in spitting distance. She feels her cheeks go ablaze. Callie hopes JJ didn't hear that. "He's such a dick sometimes."

"Try having classes with him for ten years." The other girl remarked in feigned annoyance. They share a laugh until the sound of JJ honking her horn breaks the teens out of their snickers.

Callie sighed. "There's the warden, I'll try to get out."

"Good luck, if you need a lift text Grace. Her sister Cass is nice so she might get you." Aviva stated as Callie nods, Grace offered her that several times today. Anyone else would've thought the ginger was a stalker but Callie has come to realize that Grace is persistent. The tan girl sees Maggie motion for her to hurry up and she pauses. "Hey, you don't have to go. We're coming over tomorrow. Anyway, Belle has lots of parties and the same thing happens at all of them; Belle gets smashed, Alex takes care of her, Wyatt hooks up with Zac, Grace gets all gooey with Mason and I sit back watching the madness." Aviva starts to walk away. "But, I guess it'd be nice to have someone to watch with." Her words render Callie speechless; she still has a lot to learn about this group.

The teenager bites her lip as she opens the car door. She looks a bit taken-aback at the sight of her mother sitting in the driver's side and not her stepfather. "Why're you here and not Natalie?" That sounds a lot ruder than Callie intended, but she's honestly surprised to see JJ. Usually her parents are working and they rely on Natalie to pick all of them up. The college sophomore is actually okay; JJ, Will and Callie have discussed how she's more there for the boys rather than her. Well, this week Callie is supposed to stay home which she did.

"Hello to you too, Grumpy," JJ chuckled teasingly as the teenager rolls her eyes huffily. This action alone makes the mother frown warningly. She's let a lot of things slide lately but her patience with Callie's bad attitude is starting to wear thin. "Watch it Cal, I'm not above giving you a time-out when we get home." Her kid has the sense to look moderately abashed. "Oh and my day was fine thank you for asking."

"All right, I guess I'm sorry. But you never pick me up." The young girl has the sense to look abashed.

"Excuse me? I dropped you off this morning." Her mother replied all the while trying to keep a steady tone, some woman with a Massachusetts license plate just cut her off.

Callie countered. "But, you don't usually pick me up."

"True, but now we're splitting hairs here." JJ's tone has taken a firm edge causing Callie to realize she shouldn't push her foster mother any further. "So how was school today, sweets?"

"Okay, I had a test in math. I thought I got like a B on it, but now I dunno cause Alex and Grace said they got different answers than me." Callie explained biting her lip. Before she hands in most tests, Callie does what she presumes a lot of other students do; she calculates what she thinks she'll get. The teenager frowns to herself as she realizes another very important thing. "Hey, where's the squirt?"

"He's at Finley's birthday party. Wait, you had a test today and didn't tell us?"

The younger blonde asked, bemused. "I'm supposed to tell you when I have a test?"

"Yes," the mother tries not to sound too annoyed. She has to keep reminding herself that they need to take baby steps with Callie because the teen hasn't had to answer to anyone besides Tanya. She comes to a red light. "Babe, Will and I want to help you prep for tests. In fact we'd love helping you. From now on, you tell us when you have a test–" JJ pauses studying her kid. "Tell us when you first hear about it okay?"

"Sure fine, I didn't think you guys cared about that junk. Guess Tanya was right." Callie shrugged appearing almost amused by this revelation. She and her social worker/counselor, Tanya has started having bi-weekly meetings with one another…just to ensure her progress. JJ, Will, and Tanya have also met with one another discussing Callie's status and how she seems to be thriving under their guardianship. Callie coughs. "So I've been really good."

The mother parks her car and walks towards the door. Over her shoulder she nods in agreement. "You have."

"And today's the last day of this." Callie follows after JJ who seems to be desperately trying to avoid having this conversation, but the teenager isn't going to give up. She has to at least ask. It doesn't hurt.

"Your grounding, you mean." JJ finally stops as they enter her and Will's room. Her husband happens to be on his last button of his shirt with glistening hair. Thank God he has pants on or else Callie would be scared for life.

Callie can tell her cheeks are bright red. "Uh-huh, I was thinking maybe I could sleep over Belle's tonight."

"Is this you asking my permission to go or asking for me to end your grounding early?" Will interceded as he ruffles his foster daughter's hair and gives JJ a light kiss on the lips.

"Uh both?" Callie asked her bright blue eyes brimming with hope.

JJ rubs her forehead. Her mind is elsewhere. Like on the fact that she finally got through with Robert's secretary, Nora today and planned a meeting with him next weekend. "We'll think about it." Really, all she can think about is seeing Robert again. A part of her still despises him for up and leaving without so much as a goodbye. Another part doesn't want to see him because that means they're going to have to tell him about Callie and if JJ remembers right she knows he'll do the honorable thing. Or at least, he was noble when she knew him.

"You're avoiding my questions." Callie huffed in typical teenage arrogance.

Will folds his arms over his chest. "That may be the case, but we're in charge so we can."

"Are you? It's not like you're my real dad, Will." Callie retorted thoughtlessly almost instantly regretting her words upon saying them. She likes Will. He's been a real good friend to her since moving in here. Granted, he's starting to become sort of annoying in a dad sort of way, but maybe he'll ease up soon.

"Callie," JJ began.

Will holds up his hand stopping JJ from continuing and answered. "She's right Cher, I'm not her daddy. But, I am legally responsible for you and I care about you just like I know your mama does so because of that I want yah to show me some respect. Got it?" Callie nods. "Ah that reminds me, your mama and I are going away on a trip next weekend. Auntie Pen and Uncle Spencer will be here. You feel all right with that?" The foster father asked resisting the urge to feel any sort of pain envelop within his chest. He considers Callie like one of his own.

The little Jareau attempts to keep the wide-eyed grin from tickling her cheeks. This is perfect. "Sure that's ah uh that's Halloween weekend right?" Now there's no way she can get in trouble next weekend. Although, she highly doubts her parents would mind a little pranks anyway.

"Trouble any ideas of trouble dancing in your head ain't worth it." The dad remarked messing up her wild blonde curls in amusement. "Why don't yah grab a snack while your mama and I finish talking?"

"If you're gonna talk about me, shouldn't I be here too?" Their very sassy teenager questioned earning twin eye rolls from both parents who know that's fair, but there are some topics that they need to talk alone.

"Sweets this may come to a surprise but, we do have lives outside of you. I swear between you and Henry you'd think the sun rose and set for you two. Will and I need to have a grown-ups talk. Go on scoot." The mother said not sounding even the slightest bit annoyed as she sends Callie off with a light pat to her rear.

"And no eavesdroppin' little darlin' or your mama will cook dinner tonight." Will warned with a smirk causing his grin to widen at Callie's mock-horrified look.

JJ pretends to look insulted as her daughter dashes out of the room. She turns to her husband. "I'll have you know my cooking isn't that bad."

"Oh course not Cher; I personally love your chicken surprise." He chuckled causing his wife to shoot him a rather scathing scowl. "So," Will checks the door making sure Callie isn't in hearing distance. "What're we gonna do about next weekend? I know Tanya wants us ta meet him, but I feel like we're lyin' to Callie by not taking her along."

"Tanya's right, Callie is doing better with us and this could set her back. What happens if Robert doesn't want to know her? Or worse he doesn't acknowledge her?" JJ asked although a part of her remembers Robert being a really good guy. That's why she was so surprised when he abandoned her.

Will asked. "He's been dodging your calls, ain't he?"

"Not him directly, but close enough, I had to schedule a meeting for us to see him."

"What does he do again?"

"He's the CEO of Perry International." That company is huge in business endeavors; they often fund small-time inventors aiding them in becoming huge successes for a price. "When we were younger he wanted to be a mechanic." He once repaired this incredible 72' Impala, JJ wonders what ever happened to it.

"Huh," The foster father rubs his chin. "Are you sure about this? What if he wants her? He has money, Cher. He could take her from us." Will knows this is selfish, but he does care about Callie and he knows how much JJ and Henry especially adore the baby Jareau.

JJ runs a hand through her thick blonde hair with a weary expression. "Robert wouldn't do that. Look, I don't want to tell him either, but she's his daughter too. We can't just keep Callie from him and her from him either. They both deserve a chance to get to know one another."

"What if he doesn't wanna get to know her? What do we tell her?" Her husband speaks the thought that's been nagging in the back of JJ's mind. It's a fair one too. She's read Time articles about his 'wonderful' life with second wife Lillian Coleman-Perry and how he's considering running for Mayor. He also has two boys from his first marriage with hotel manager, Victoria Kyle. This would definitely ruin any possible campaign ideas.

"We don't. If Robert wants to get to know her, then we'll tell her, but if he doesn't we ah well we won't…agreed?" In the back of her mind, JJ knows her husband would never agree with this. She just doesn't want to see Callie get hurt.

Will protested. "Cher." He can't do that to Callie.

"Don't 'Cher' me, Will LaMontange. I'm not going to hurt our little girl like that."

"I don't wanna hurt her either, but Callie deserves to know the outcome. This is her life." He replied for once taking a stand on his role towards Callie. She may not be his kin, but that doesn't mean he's going to keep secrets about her life from her either. "Lookit, say she finds out we did this one day and never forgives us."

"I guess we'll just have to not tell her then." JJ declared. Even though, she promised Callie they'd always be honest with her there's always a line. They're the parent and they have to protect Callie…from everything; no matter what. She runs a hand through her hair with pursed lips. "I'm going to pick Henry up from the Herron's."

"You promised we'd always be honest with her, Jennifer." Will called immediately reminding his wife who swallows hard feeling the guilt rise in her stomach.

The profiler is halfway out the door when she stops. "I'll be back in half an hour. Can you start dinner?" She turns looking at her husband in a pleading sort of way causing Will to nod.

There was an eerie stillness over the course of that evening which led into dinner. Callie noticed, Henry noticed, hell Michael probably noticed it too. Callie's been in homes like this before with parents always fighting over random crap, but Will and JJ hardly if ever argue. They bicker playfully but they're always affectionate. The teen guesses whatever they're 'not arguing' about must be serious. So definitely not a good time to ask if she can head out to a party then, afterwards Callie leaps at the opportunity to clean up while Henry watches some T.V.

However much she tries, Callie can't get the idea of going to Belle's party out of her head. She has to go. Everyone she's become friends with is going to be there. As the minutes turn into an hour then another one, Callie grabs a book off the shelf deciding to get lost in Treasure Island. This doesn't last long because her gaze keeps flickering to the T.V.'s clock. She sighs rereading a sentence for the eighth time tonight. She can't miss the biggest party of the month. They've made plans to prank people on Halloween. And Belle only turns fifteen once. Plus this will be her first time going to a party with this crew. Her gaze flickers over to the door of her room, JJ never did follow through on her threat to nail it shut. She rubs the back of her neck.

It has been a very long grounding. And at precisely twelve tonight Callie's no longer grounded.

She takes a cursory glance around the kitchen; Henry and Will are reading together, JJ's mulling over some file in her bedroom and Mike is already tucked away in bed. Callie presumes after they finish this chapter that Henry will be sent to be as well. The teenager purses her lips together before deciding to go with Alex's idea.

"I ah I think I'm gonna hit the sheets."

Will's eyebrows nearly reach his hair line in shock. Callie's worse than Henry about going to bed. "You all right, Trouble?" He asked reaching over on the couch to feel her forehead. The very parental act alone causes Callie to inwardly tense up. "Huh, yah don't feel warm. How's your stomach? Do you hurt anywhere?"

"I'm fine, just tired from school…you know how it is." Callie said as she struggles to keep the redness from burning her cheeks. When did she become such a shitty liar? Surely, she was better at this deception deal before moving in with the freaking Cleaver family. A part of her – that's growing larger with each passing day likes it. Everything feels safe, secure. Like the ground isn't going to come crumbling out from beneath her.

"It's been a while, but I guess I do. Hey, least when yah wake up you'll be free as a bee." The foster parent said as if Callie even needed reminding. Much to his surprise, Callie gives him a hug goodnight and ruffles Henry's hair, the little boy is quick to bid his sister farewell mostly because she's cutting into his daddy-time.

A frown forms on Will's face as he watches the short teen walk off to her bedroom. He has half a mind to tell Cher…hell what would he say? That he has a weird feeling. That makes about as much sense as using damp wood to build a shed. The father suddenly feels Henry tugging on his arm.

"Daddy, daddy it's your turn." Henry stated in an annoyed tone causing Will to wonder if the boy ever gets a bit frustrated their attention has been more on Callie than him lately. "This page," he points fully expecting his father to understand and is pleased when he does. "

"Gotcha, now where were we…" Will clears his throat gearing himself to read the last page in this chapter. So far they've dominated The Magic Tree House Books, defended the realms with The Knights of the Kitchen Table, and are currently chuckling through Flat Stanley.

Callie meanwhile is brushing her teeth trying to figure out how she's going to do this. Her foster parents aren't stupid enough to fall for the old pillow under blankets trick. And Callie Isn't stealthy enough to tiptoe out the front door. Guess she'll have to go through her bedroom window like before. Here's hoping she doesn't get caught. With that the blonde heads into her room quickly shedding off her pajamas for some party clothes cute enough for a boy to flirt with her but not too slutty. The fourteen year old keeps her door ajar before turning off her light. Callie figures if she shuts her door completely that might arouse suspicion. You can never be too careful when it comes to having cops as parents. With that in mind, Callie slides across the floor deciding to put her shoes on outside rather than make any sort of noise. After opening the window and tossing her shoes out of it, the young girl starts to maneuver herself over it when the light in her room flicks on.

"Seriously?" JJ's voice echoes in the room, tired and annoyed. As though the bedroom light has caused her to become frozen, Callie cringes. She doesn't even notice her mother stalking over and practically yanking her back inside…in a weirdly gentle manner. Huh, Callie's certain she must've learned that at Quantico because usually when someone pulls her it hurts. "I knew I should've nailed your window shut."

"JJ, it's not what it looks like. I was just uh – you see, I was…I dropped my shoe and I was gonna get it." The lie even sounds ridiculous to the fourteen year old.

JJ pinches the bridge of her nose counting to ten. "That's what you're going with? You dropped a shoe out the window and are going to get it. But, you're holding the other shoe or you were. Out of all the material out there you've decided to go with that? How stupid do you think I am?" The mother questioned. "If you have any sense at all, you won't answer that Caroline." There's silence. JJ's really at a loss as to what to do. She only came in here because Will texted her saying something felt fishy. "You have ten seconds to give me one good reason why I shouldn't extend your grounding another week."

"I'd be grounded on Halloween. That's sort of child abuse."

"Yeah but I don't think it'd go to trial." JJ is deciding to be witty. "Seven seconds left."

Callie blurted. "Because…because, I wouldn't like it."

"Hmm, that's a leading factor in why I should extend it. Now five," The mother countered. "Oh now it's four," she can sense the girl is starting to sweat. Her kid is unsure if she's serious but wants to see if she can get away with almost sneaking out. Anyway, JJ figures a healthy dose of discipline is exactly what Callie needs.

"I didn't wanna miss Isabelle's birthday! If I miss hers, I might not get invited to another one." Callie said her brutal honesty shocking them both. She blinks. The realization didn't even strike her until this very second. She sits down on the bed appearing stunned, but continues quietly. "I-I've moved around a lot okay? So I don't have a shit ton of friends – and I like the ones I have now. I know you and Will don't, but I do."

JJ profiles her daughter taking in no signs of deceit. In fact, this is the first time it appears Callie's being absolutely truthful. She closes her eyes. If only the teenager had come up with a lousy excuse like she had done before then this would've been a hell of a lot easier. She would've extended the grounding and locked her window. Then in the morning she would've officially nailed it shut. But, her kid had to go and be honest. She sits down beside her.

"Honey, we don't always appreciate the trouble you get into with your friends, but we do like them." JJ's voice has lost its edge. "Babe, really listen to me, you have to stop trying to trick us all the time. If we'd known why you wanted to go out, then we would've let you. I want you to start talking to us…and when you say yes ma'am and you will say yes ma'am when I'm done talking, I want you to mean it got it?"

"Yes ma'am." Callie answered meeting her mother's eyes.

"Here's the deal, you can sleep over Isabelle's–" the teenager wraps her arms around JJ. "But, if I find out you did something you shouldn't and you can bet that I will find out because I know everything. It's a skill all moms have, then you'll really be in trouble. Are we clear on that?" Her mother warned wagging a serious finger at her. There's no way she's going to approve of her young teenager drinking at this age.

The little blonde responded. "Yes ma'am."

"Good, now do you need a ride or can you have someone pick you up?"

"Grace's sister can get me." Callie grabs a stray pair of pajamas and clothes to change into for tomorrow. "Will told you he thought I was gonna sneak out right?" She asked wanting to make sure she has all her bases covered.

"Oh yeah, he also told me you'd have a good reason." JJ answered rolling her eyes at the text Will sent her about how was adorable. Odd, how he knew straight off the get-go though. JJ sighs she must be losing her touch or it's probably that their disagreement really shook her. The mother suddenly appraises her not so innocently dressed teenager daughter in slight horror. "I want you to have fun sweets, but you're changing into more appropriate clothes." The look Callie gives her, JJ swears she's given her mother the same one who knows how long ago. "Ah, ah, ah, don't give me that look babe." Her kid mutters something under her breath but does as she's told.

* * *

It's around ten when Callie and Grace arrive at Isabelle's estate. The party it seems is already in full swing. Grace's sister Cass drives off but not before warmly warning her sister to behave herself. The place is surprisingly packed considering how small their grade is. Their entire high school must be here, or at least anyone Belle has deemed worthy of coming to her house. Callie's been to a few parties in her life, but this is a real rager.

"Cals!" A very tipsy Belle greeted her practically dragging the other blonde to the bar where some junior with a minx haircut is mixing drinks. "There you are. I've been looking for you forever!" She wraps her arms around the older blonde practically reeking of booze.

"I just got here." Callie rocks on her heels awkwardly.

Isabelle throws back another shot before staring at Callie seriously. "That's why I couldn't find you." She looks like she's completely in her element, wild and untamed. Her make-up even seems a little wild too, like she put it on without looking but almost sexy in a way. Like, she wants to look less put together to through people off.

"I guess it is. Where'd Grace go?" The foster kid asked. It seemed like just a second ago Grace was standing beside her and now she's somehow managed to disappear. What the fuck just happened? Callie wondered.

"To get shit-faced and cuddle with Mason. I'm gonna let you in a on a secret Callie," Belle sways slightly as she hands Callie a shot of vodka. "We're all fucked up. I mean like it'd be funny if it wasn't so fucking sad."

Callie questioned uneasily. "How much have you had to drink exactly?"

"Not enough," Isabelle quickly pours herself another shot.

"Maybe you should drink this before you have anymore. Don't you wanna remember this night?"

"Oh loosen up," the girl snapped. "I'm having fun. You should try it." She pours another shot for her friend who appears a little uneasy about having to drink. She's been around people who drink a lot and it isn't pretty. Callie honestly prefers to do what Aviva advised and watch the madness unfold.

"I don't think so." Callie backtracks. She promised JJ she wouldn't drink. And she can't go back on her word, at the moment Callie's sort of working to earn back the trust she lost. "Someone has to be responsible."

Isabelle clearly has had too much to drink. "Let someone else be responsible. You're spending the night here – you are crashing here right?" The way Belle Friar sees it, responsibilities are what happen when people get boring and she has decided to never be boring. Anyway, it's not like her parents give a shit. "See, take advantage of it."

"Hey guys, I've had four shots and I feel fine." Grace dances over to them. Her eyes are slightly glistening with a buzz that has Callie's head spinning. This is insane. She befriended complete alcoholics.

"Weren't you going to find Mason?" Isabelle asked. When she first ran into Grace, the kindhearted red head proclaimed her desire to find the apparent love of her life and promptly hook up with him. Mason doesn't like hooking up with his girlfriend when she's gone, but that doesn't stop Gracie from trying.

Grace pouted. "Yeah and I did, but he like disappeared."

"I think it was the other way around." Mason wraps his arms around her waist pulling her close to him. He plays with his girlfriend's auburn tinted hair appearing amused. "There you are."

"Mase," Grace cheered easily. "I missed you." She leans into his touch quite happily. Honestly, Callie wonders how the hell she managed to get this shit-faced within the short amount of time they've been here. They couldn't have been here for more than twenty minutes.

Mason gapes at his girlfriend shaking his head in dismay. "You did? Oh wow, you've been having too much fun in the twenty minutes you've been here." Grace kisses him causing Belle and Callie to sigh. "You're so beautiful." He commented earnestly making Callie almost throw-up. She swears those two are worse than Haley and Nathan from One Tree Hill.

"Where's Alex anyway?" Callie asked. She expected the dick to come sauntering out the minute he saw Cass drop them off and was pleasantly surprised to find that he didn't. Really though, Callie likes teasing with Alex; it's a lot like bantering with Ben – only Ben is nicer.

"Ugh, he was right there a second ago." Isabelle complained. "He must be with Sophia." She loves Sophia Karvelle like a kid sister and always lets the nine year old sleep over. Alex doesn't trust his father not to lose his temper, especially when Sophia gets sassy. She's the only one who talks back. Granted Nicky and Jake are barely three therefore their linguistics aren't expansive yet, but still. He has to protect her.

Callie can't be the only one who's stunned by this. She gapes at the group and just as Aviva walks over with a beer in hand, questions. "Sophia? As in Sophia his nine year old sister? He took his little sister to a house party?" The others don't even appear surprised.

"He does it a lot. That kid is going to need therapy like you wouldn't believe." Aviva shrugged. They all look out for Sophia and no one would dare mess with Alex's little sister. If they did, well it wouldn't be pretty. Hell, half the school would consider killing them. She's sort of like their mascot. "So you came. You sneak out?" Aviva asked a smirk tugging on the sides of her cheeks.

"No my mom let me sleepover after all." Callie answered as Aviva nods in approval.

Alex's voice causes Callie to roll her eyes. "Ooh new girl I knew you couldn't resist one of Belle's parties."

"Yeah, I see your daddy let you out." The blonde retorted gearing up for a match of wills, however, Isabelle bravely and drunkenly cuts in before the pair can get their swords out.

"Alex, dance with me!" Isabelle takes his hand winking at Callie over her shoulder.

"With pleasure," Alex lets her lead him onto the presumed dance floor while adding in a mutter. "We're just gonna dance Belles, nothing more." Callie has to strain to hear it and is sufficiently stunned. She never thought Alex would be the type to ever refuse a girl, especially when that girl is Isabelle Friar.

Aviva smirked. "I think she's the only one who doesn't know how much he loves her." She squints as though only just realizing something. "I've gotta check on Wyatt. Be back when I'm back." The tan skinned girl pulls a face upon seeing her friend appears tense at the prospect of being alone. "Don't worry, no one's gonna mess with you; half the people here think you're a convict and the other half think you're a pyromaniac."

"That's not really a compliment Viva." Callie shouted to her friend's retreating back which causes the other girl in return to wave her off. The blonde heads upstairs putting her backpack in Isabelle's closet and then returning back downstairs, she goes out to the back porch. Isabelle's house is beautiful. Callie bets it's even better in the morning without all the drunken kids or strewn solo cups. She sits down on the porch staring up at the sky aimlessly before feeling someone plop down beside her, asking.

"So, what's your story?"

Callie recognizes the voice. It's the same one she heard on her first day at Fortitude Grace, the one who told her about possible escape routes. She looks over. The guy has wavy hair as dark as night and a mix of green-blue eyes that are leaning towards green. "I don't have a story." Callie answered. "I'm just a girl at a party."

"I'm just a guy at a party." He nods holding up his drink nodding at her.


	11. Sugar, We're Goin Down

Thanks for all the awesome reviews! I will try to update more frequently, but I'm working and in school so it's kind of hard to sometimes. But, I am going to definitely make sure to update more. Sorry, I re-uploaded this chapter!

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Chapter 11

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Rolling to the left in her bed releasing her arm out from underneath, Callie carelessly drops it to the other side feeling a lump. A human like lump. She shoots out of bed like a rocket. In the bed beside her is the dude from last night. _What the fuck happened last night? How did I end up in bed with that strange guy?_ Callie strains to remember. She didn't drink anything, all she and the dude did was talk until they went for a walk and then back to Belle's. The blonde swears under oath that nothing happened. They just fell asleep together in bed. Holy shit if her parents find out about this, they'll never let her do anything fun ever again.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck." Callie muttered as she grabs a random jacket off the bed. She isn't naked or anything, the teenager feels in the theoretical sense, exposed.

In response the guy groans opening his eyes blearily peering around. His gaze lands on Callie and unlike her, he doesn't seem fazed. "Why'd you sleep here last night?" He asked.

"What!? This was my bed! You just slept here."

"No I didn't." The teenage boy slides up leaning against the frame. "You said you wanted to sleep in Isabelle's room even though I offered to go, but you insisted on sleeping upstairs. I fell asleep first too. Oh and you said something about this bed being lumpy like tomatoes."

Callie snipped. "I said lumpy like potatoes."

"So you do remember." He grinned tiredly with amusement dancing in his eyes.

"I guess I got tired and sat down intending to leave and I fell asleep." The blonde cringed feeling the heat rise in her cheeks alongside bubbles of anger. "But, it's still your fault."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." The boy stands up grabbing his shirt off the floor. It was a scorcher last night. He has an athletic build. He pulls the tee on turning to Callie expectantly before finally shrugging.

Abruptly, the door bursts open to none other than Aviva and a young girl with long flowing brown hair. She has the Karvelle all-knowing eyes. "There you are; I thought you were sleeping in Belle's room. I was worried, but Mase said you found a place to land so I came to tell you I made pan–" she stops short looking stunned. "Guess you got your own happy ending then. W-we better go Soph…there's uh pancakes in the kitchen if you're hungry."

"Viva, it's not what it looks like." Callie tries to explain but Aviva ushers herself and Alex's kid sister away before she can explain herself. The blonde turns to the boy who's innocently sitting tying his shoes. He didn't even try to explain. "Thank you for that. As much fun as talking to you was, goodbye uh…" shit, Callie tries to remember his name. They were talking for so long last night that she must have forgot.

"Sean," he finishes the last loop to offer her his hand.

"Sean…right, Callie," she answered shaking it.

Sean grins at her. "Callie," the blonde nods feeling flushed. "Nice meeting you."

"Bye Sean," Callie waves as she rushes down the corridor.

He watches her go in glee. Honestly, no one's treated him like that since before Conor. Being with Callie was frustrating, refreshing, and normal. Deciding to help her out, Sean tip-toes out of Belle's house making sure he's not seen. On his way back home, the fifteen year old checks his phone seeing multiple messages from his sort of girlfriend and buddies looking for him.

"I never pegged you as being slutty." Aviva sounds very matter-of-fact like she is stating things she knows are true. Callie chances a glance at Sophia who's too busy watching cartoons to care. The others are snoozing and everyone else who crashed at Belle's is gone.

"Nothing happened, Viva."

"You're telling me you two slept in the same bed but nothing happened? Wow, someone should talk to Belle about that concept." There's no truth in Viva's joke, but Callie rolls her eyes.

Callie replied smoothly. "We were talking and fell asleep."

"Can't believe you and Sean Herron slept together," her best friend scowls at her. "Did I say you guys banged the royal bong? No, I said the same thing you just said." Aviva is smirking in that annoying way she does. "I just can't believe it. Sean Herron, you know Belle would be super jealous. He's really popular at school."

"That weirdo is popular?" Callie knows based on his looks alone she should've be surprised, but she kind of is. He seemed too broken to be popular and now she knows why.

The olive skinned girl chuckled. "He only seems weird cause you don't know him." She turns to appraise her best friend. "His brother Conor died two years ago." Aviva cuts a piece of her pancake. "Sean talking to you is kind of a big deal; he doesn't talk to like anyone." Last night, he didn't mention anything a having had a brother. In fact, all he talked about was his crazy ex-girlfriend and tense home life.

"Then why did he talk to me? You don't think he'll be my stalker now, right?"

"No way, that's very Pretty Little Liars thinking of you." Callie raises her eyebrows. She never would've pegged Viva as the type to watch that. "Maggie made me watch it one night. I hated every minute out it." The brunette lied easily. There are some things too scared to share with others. "Oh and I don't know why he talked to you, Sean is weird but I swear he's okay." Aviva vowed seriously as she tucks her hair behind her ear. "If anything, he was a bigger dick…uh look, Sean may be weird but he's a good guy."

Callie nods. She's met a few kids like Sean. They're sort of held by glue and tape. "You totally love Pretty Little Liars." A hint of shock graces Aviva's face. "What? You think I can't tell when you're lying? My parent's are cops and you're a shitty liar."

"Shut up, I like Aria." Aviva rolls her eyes annoyed at how easily Callie seems to be able to read her despite the fact that she's usually better at keeping a straight face.

"Yeah okay Viva, if you say so. I'm gonna get the others up." Callie responded holding up her hands. She starts out of the kitchen deciding to find their other friends. Last night was crazy; Wyatt was running around streaking with some guy chasing after him, Alex and Belle danced a lot, Grace puked her lungs out before Mason put her to bed and went home, and Sophia ate more junk food than a fourth grader should.

Aviva is quick to stop her. "I wouldn't if I was you. They'll have hangovers and be unapologetic assholes. Hey, why didn't you have anything to drink last night? Belle doesn't give a shit about her dads' alcohol."

"I did." Callie looks away. "Belle gave me that shot."

"But, you didn't drink it. You think I can't tell when _you're_ lying?" Aviva uses Callie's own words against her. "We're friends just cause your parents are cops doesn't mean you have a good poker face either, Cal."

The blonde said. "I promised my parents I wouldn't."

Before Aviva respond, Sophia reappears putting her bowl in the sink with a groan. Aviva grins slightly at the young girl. "The fruit didn't help?" The nine year old groans miserably shaking her head. "You'd think you would've learned from last Christmas…it's a medical mystery how you aren't five hundred pounds."

"Shut up, not my fault you guys gave me it." Sophia whined. "Can I have chocolate chips with my pancakes?" Aviva shakes her head. "Okay fine, bananas then." Again the olive-skinned girl shakes her head. "Why can't I have pancakes?"

"Because you've had enough sugar to last you until this Christmas, so shut up and have some more fruit if you want. I know you like everything there so don't be a pain." Callie is surprised to see Aviva playing big sister to Sophia who pops a strawberry into her mouth. The blonde is beginning to realize that Aviva is the 'adult' of their friend group.

Callie swallowed. "Aviva, promise me you won't tell the others about uh what happened."

"If nothing happened then why does it matter?"

"Aviva," the blonde tries to keep her tone even.

Aviva rolls her eyes advising. "Fine, whatever, I'd ditch Sean's sweatshirt though." The brunette observes how Callie drapes it on the chair behind her. She bites down on her lip to keep from laughing. Things are about to get good.

After breakfast, Callie watches T.V. with Sophia and Aviva for a while until the boredom gets to her and she decides to head back home. The others have yet to rise from their stupors so Aviva sent a message into the class group saying they're going to work on their project tomorrow instead. Callie walks back to her house. She and Belle don't live that far away from one another and anyway the blonde likes to walk. It gives her time to think. She gained a lot of new knowledge at this party. All of her friends have their issues, sure, who doesn't? But they aren't dicks. They're decent people who have problems. And they own up to them, well most of them. Wyatt's 'problem' isn't more so a problem than his own thing. Callie can respect that they own their damage though.

"Hey you're back early sweets." JJ hears the front door shut and glances over from the T.V. She expected Callie to get home later around lunchtime or even later, but it's only half past eleven. The mom covers her surprise with a wide grin. "Did you have fun?" _Hopefully not too much fun_ , she thought, but doesn't add.

"Yeah, I did. I promise I didn't drink or do anything." Callie reads her mother. "None of them can come today cause they aren't feeling too hot...well Viva's fine, but not so much Belle, Alex or Wyatt."

JJ has her agent face on when she demands. "So there was drinking?" The profiler has half a mind to phone several parents informing them on their children's latest antics. But, she recalls when her mother did that. JJ went to a house party and didn't do anything, but her friends did and they got in trouble because Sandy Jareau had to phone them…and well JJ was labeled a narc because of that.

"No comment, but if there was – I didn't."

"I know sweets," JJ doesn't tell Callie this but she would've read it off her instantly. The teen peers up at her mother as though truly seeing the woman who lost her. She tensely walks over to the profiler wrapping her arms around her waist, hugging her. This is the first time she's ever initiated any kind affectionate embrace, well besides with Henry and Michael. "Oh, what's this for?" She asked accepting the hug and making it last longer by hugging her back tighter.

Callie shrugs letting the hug continue. "Thanks for uh letting me go and everything." Callie's answer is simple and complicated all at once. She goes over to her foster dad and does the same thing; hugging him. "Thanks for convincing her to lemme go."

Will hugs her back. "Anytime, Trouble, I'm glad you had a good time – but yah didn't have too good of a time right?" He asked as he makes his way into the kitchen for a bottle of water.

"Like I told JJ, I didn't drink or any crap like that."

"Language, babe," the mother chided nodding to their very impressionable boys.

"Crap isn't a swear word." Callie answered with a yawn.

"Don't talk back to your mama." Will said coming out of the kitchen with water in hand.

The blonde kid shrugs tiredly. "I'm gonna take a nap." She can hear Will comment about how little sleep she likely got at a sleepover and wanders down the hall. Her parents and brothers' sit down on the couch playfully bickering over a movie to watch. The sound of JJ's phone buzzing gets her attention and Callie has half a mind to keep going, but decides to be nice instead. Will and JJ let her to go to Belle's last night with a hunch there'd be some bad things around. So the least she can do is bring it to her mom. Taking her mom's phone off the counter, Callie sees an email pop up; _Cheryl Wright_ and beneath that is _Robert J. Perry_ of Perry Insurance _._ Her breathe catches and she looks around before flicking the email open.

She reads. It is with hopeful understanding that they, William LaMontange and Jennifer Jareau, can make it to a new appointment which would be tomorrow morning. They apologize for the inconvenience, but Robert J. Perry will be in Dubai next week rendering it impossible to discuss matters with them. Robert also apologizes for missing their calls.

The first time Callie ever learned her father's name she looked him up. From her cursory search she found out he's loaded. His family comes from a ton of wealth. His first marriage with Victoria Kyle didn't work out, but he got two sons. However, his second marriage being one of more financial opportunity with Lillian Coleman was advantageous. They wed three years prior and according to several interviews they're a power-couple.

Callie almost drops the phone as she rereads the message. What she fails to notice is JJ at the kitchen's door.

"What've you got there, sweets?"

"You're meeting with Robert and you never told me?" Callie's question is filled with a blend of anger. JJ swore she'd always be honest and…and she lied. Well not directly, but Callie's pretty sure she was grounded for the same thing "He wants to see you guys earlier like tomorrow."

JJ presses her lips together. "Can I see my phone please?"

"How can you be so calm about this?" The teenager hands her mother's cell over. JJ takes it and reads the message herself. She does her best to think of an explanation. "You lied to me! You said you wouldn't and you did. How could you?" Her daughter's words strike a chord with JJ, she never sought to lie to Callie and technically they didn't. Fuck, she can't say that.

"Callie, babe, let's go for a drive." Without letting her frustrated kid explode even more, the profiler snatches her keys off the clip and steers Callie out the door. She sends Will a text saying he was right and she's eternally annoyed when he responds with, _I told you so_. Rolling her eyes, JJ starts the car. She glances out the passenger seat window and motions for Callie to come in. Begrudgingly the fourteen year old obeys, however, she has to add some flair because she wouldn't be Callie if she didn't and slams her door. "I want you to know that Will wanted to tell you sooner, but I convinced him not to."

"Yeah, well you wear the pants so...how could you not tell me?" There's hurt laced in her tone.

"I didn't want to get your hopes up."

Callie's eyes darken. JJ recognizes the look. She wore it right before she did something foolish, but the likelihood of Callie gaining that trait is so slim…suddenly the passenger door opens causing JJ to jerk the car to a stop. Thank God they're on side streets. Callie unbuckles her seatbelt and sprints out of the vehicle wanting to just catch her breath.

"Callie!" JJ tries to find a place to pull over. Her heart nearly jumps up her throat upon seeing the kid almost get hit by a car. When she's finally able to her kid is nowhere in sight. JJ looks around before calling Garcia to have her put a trace on Callie's cell. She couldn't have gotten too far. JJ sends Will a text as well, but he's pretty much trapped at the house cause Natalie's at school and anyone they would call to babysit is busy or looking for Callie. Deciding to look around herself while her best friend and husband do their own private searches, JJ starts driving around ignoring the pangs of guilt that are forming in her chest.

* * *

The foster kid prides herself on being adaptable. Callie knew the minute her mom rolled to a halt in front of the Stop sign that she would make a break for it. Now, Callie isn't going to run away. She just wanted a break from all the crap being shoveled at her. Taking the SIM card out of her cell and turning it off for good measure, Callie steps off the bus and goes to the nearest phone to call her friend. This time she's leaving Ben out of it. The way Callie sees it the first person they're gonna hound would be Ben and then Aviva. Callie phones the second person in the world she knows always has her back. He answers on the first ring.

And arrives at the bus stop in practically record time, if Callie had to guess it was four minutes.

"What the hell are you doing in this part of town?"

"That's how you say hello to your friends." Callie questioned giving her old foster brother a scowl as he takes her upper arm yanking her along. He smells funny, like aftershave mixed with Windex; an odd combination. "Hey, what're you pulling me for? Bug? Bug!" She pulls her arm out of his grasp stopping him from steering her further.

Bug looks down at the kid he failed. As far as he knows no one ever touched Callie like they did Lux, but she sure as hell wasn't treated how she should've either. She should've been treated better. Mr. Dalton saw to that. He wanted them to know their place; they were just checks to him. "Ben told me you found your mom and you had it good now."

"I did…I mean I do, but she made me mad." She said suddenly feeling a little childish as Bug's scowl deepens and he runs a hand through his hair. It's the shortest Callie's ever seen it. With the Dalton's, Mrs. Dalton made sure them look picture perfect all the time so Bug had a respectable amount of hair. More often than not, Callie remembers Mrs. Dalton grabbing a fistful of hers, Bug's, Tasha's, and even Ben's. Maybe that's why she liked for them to have long hair. So she could grab it. Bug gives her a look to expand. "She said she wouldn't lie to me and she did. So I got mad and left."

"That's why you left? Cause your mommy kept something from you? And that's why you took off? God, that was dumb of you." When he puts it like that it sounds stupid, Callie shrugs a bit abashed. "Fuck Callie, don't you ever think?" At his raised voice, Callie shrinks a little causing Bug to sigh. "I own The Light's On downtown, come on."

"You own a restaurant?"

Bug purses his lips. "I wouldn't call my bar a restaurant." He leads her some ways before the pair stops at his shack is putting it way too nicely. There are lackeys standing guard at the door who bow their heads upon seeing their fearless leader approach. Bug puts a protective arm around Callie leading her inside and holding her close to him for good measure. "Don't talk to anyone, except Ana, she's over there." He points to the bar where an attractive and provocatively dressed Hispanic lady waves at them, confused.

"Are you a criminal now, Buggy?" Callie whispered borrowing the nickname from their youth.

"Depends on how you look at it, C. You like a soda?" Bug wipes some dust off the stool before lifting her onto it. Callie nods. "Ana, get my sister a Sprite." He called earning Ana's attention and she swaggers over to him the sprite dancing around in a dirty glass.

"Here you go, sweetie." Ana puts the drink in front of her and turns to Bug seductively. "I didn't know you had a baby sis, Bug. She's a cutie too, looks nothing like you. Lucky girl." He rolls his eyes pulling Ana in for a kiss making his former foster sister pull a face, she's never seen Bug act like this before.

Callie interjected. "Foster sister, we were in the same house when I was a kid."

"You still are a kid." Bug smirked. Ana ruffles Callie's hair before walking off to fix a burly man a drink ignoring the slightly lewd comments as she does so. Bug clenches his fist. "Hey man," the guy looks over. "Watch how you talk to the ladies working in my bar." When he thinks Callie isn't looking, he pats his pocket making the man apologize instantly. Bug's eyes are warm as he turns his attention back onto Callie. "So, you need money for a cab or what? Actually," he frowns. "I think I'll give you a ride back myself, can't be too careful with family."

"I don't want to go back…and you can't tell me what to do." Callie complained. She can tell by the heat that's coming off Bug's glare that it wasn't wise to mouth off. "They're gonna be mad at me. This isn't the first time I've run away."

Bug's gaze softens. "Yeah they will be, but they should be mad. This art of town isn't safe for a kid, especially one like you. Now, grab your jacket. Ana's gonna watch the bar while I take you home. Where are you living now?"

"I can take the bus."

"You can, but do you think I'm going to let you?" The young man is brought back to when they were kids and Callie got this rabbit look in her eyes, like she was going to run off. And she would too. She'd go to this fort she and Ben constructed that only they could get to. "Callie, if you try to run from me, there's no hide-out like you had before. If you run, there's only the door and I promise you won't make it that far." Bug keeps his voice low. He can tell Ana's eavesdropping, but doesn't mind. "Ana, watch the bar. I'm taking the kid home."

"Adios chica, it was nice meeting you." Ana bids the little girl adew. "Perhaps we will meet again so you can tell me funny stories about your big brother." Bug rolls his eyes scowling as he gives his right hand man, Derrick a look to help Ana, his pal nods firmly in return.

Callie mumbles a goodbye as she's ushered out the door and led to Bug's bike. He eyes her severely and ultimately decides to 'borrow' as he puts it, Ana's station wagon. After hearing the click of her belt, Bug asks. "So, little sis, where is it you live now?"

* * *

"I can't find her. She shut her phone off on the bus, baby cakes." Garcia informed keeping her eyes on the laptop. She's hacking into the FBI Database and searching for Callie as they speak, mostly because she's also applying for adoption too. "Your kid's smart. She must've known you'd trace it. Is there anywhere she'd go?"

JJ huffs in frustration. "I called Diana and Ben's at his dad's this weekend and Jack promised me she wasn't with them and even had Ben promise me too. She's not with any of her friends from school either. What if Callie decided to leave for good?" The guilt is cutting at JJ, she didn't want this to happen. This is exactly why she didn't tell Callie.

"She wouldn't do that. You know she wouldn't do that." Will cut in wrapping his arms around her waist kissing his wife's head. "Callie is just sour we didn't tell her the truth and needs to blow off some steam. You know yah would've done the same thing, hell, there've been times where you had."

"That's different." JJ responded grumpily. "I'm thirty…" age is just a number. "Well I'm older and she's a kid, not an adult. She doesn't get to do that yet."

Will nods taking the phone from his wife. "Penelope, if yah hear anything please call us. I told the others to keep their eyes pealed if they see Callie wandering about." He smiles at her response and hangs up. The husband takes his wife's hand. "Hey now, she's just angry. Callie loves us. I know she does. She just needs a minute and yah know what? We've gotta let her have this time to do just that. She'll come home when she's ready and then we can talk to her about…well everything, I suppose."

* * *

"Nice digs, you've got C. You always were a runner, even from things that were good for you, especially from the good things. Why you wandered out of Portland, I'll never know. You know Lux could've got you a place with her." Bug commented softly as he pulls up to Spencer's apartment.

"I know." Callie thought about running to Lux. The girl was nice enough. She even offered to convince her parents to let her stay. But, Callie had to turn her down. Anyway, she couldn't have gone to Oregon, it wasn't where she was registered. "She was nice. Tasha told me Lux is working on being a doctor for kids."

Bug shrugs. "Yeah good for her. It was nice seeing you anyway; I mean it's been a long time coming." He came back to Virginia after breaking up with Lux. It was nice to go back home.

Callie asked softly. "Do you know how Tasha's doing?" Last she heard Tasha was working at some big-shot music label. Weirdly enough, Tasha was first placed in Portland then she got transferred to Virginia to stay with the Dalton's until she was moved back to Portland. Things like that don't happen often. Bug ran away and aged out. His last home was with the Dalton's.

"Think she's in New York now, working at some record label or something."

"I won't see you again will I?" Callie dared to ask as Bug looks away. "Can we pretend I will and just...can we just pretend I'll see you later?" He smiles crookedly nodding. And to think today started out nice, Callie opens the car door flashing back to when Bug said he wanted to be different than his father and well, he's not. Bug isn't mean, but he's not so different. She knows it's safer having him bring her to an apartment complex. A part of the teenager wishes she didn't feel this way, but she doesn't trust him anymore. Bug kisses the top of her head. The young teen walks away from the car and into her Uncle Spencer's building.

318\. Based on his mailbox that's Spencer's apartment number. However, just as the elevator doors open Reid comes strolling out walking with a purpose. He almost walks past his niece who smiles awkwardly at him.

"Callie, what are you–" He began uneasily fumbling with his words. "How did you even get here?" Spencer asked as he rubs his brow in wonderment. He and JJ don't live in spitting distance on one another so this is well this is certainly a predicament. "Let's get you home. Do you know how worried your parents are?" Callie is once again led to yet another vehicle today and guided in. There's silence as he starts driving, until Reid can't take it anymore and repeats his earlier question. "How did you get here, Callie?"

"My friend drove me."

Spencer stated. "You're being vague and avoiding my question. You did something you shouldn't have and are now trying to cover it up aren't you?"

"No," Callie groans in annoyance. "Don't profile me, Uncle Spencer. I don't like it."

"That's interesting considering I'm sure your mother doesn't like being worried like this and I don't like seeing one of my good friend's worried. So in the grand scheme of things, I don't care if you don't like it." Reid answered his tone surprising himself more so than Callie. "So, I'll ask again, how did you get here?"

"Bug, uh Bobby Guthrie drove me. He, Ben, and I used to live in the same house and Ben's with his dad so I took a bus to Bug and then he drove me to you…I didn't wanna show him where I live now." Callie doesn't care if she sounds annoyed, she's feeling ganged up on right now. Like all of the people who are supposed to be on her side aren't today and that sucks.

Spencer nods making a mental note to look this character up. "You're angry with me."

"Not with you, but with everything. I'm sick of being lied to."

"I assure you Caroline; I've never lied to you." Reid promised.

Callie turns to her uncle. He's the only one who treats her even. Like, he doesn't think of her as some snot-nosed kid. She can talk to Reid without worrying that he'll belittle her or tell her she's being ridiculous. He can be real. "I know you haven't, but…sometimes it sucks being a kid. No one ever tells me anything anymore and when they do, it's like they're doing me this big favor. Like, I should be grateful they kept a secret from me."

"I'm pretty sure the 'they' you're referring to is JJ and Will right?" Spencer questioned as Callie shoots him a 'duh' sort of grimace making the brown haired man smile, she looks so much like her mother. He pulls up their drive coming to a stop. When Callie was getting into the car, he sent everyone a message about the teenager being in the lobby. "Parents aren't perfect Callie. Believe me. But, yours are trying. Your parents are two of the best people I know and…that's what counts. We all do the best we can."

"How mad do you think they're gonna be?"

"Honestly," Spencer's eyes are full of concentrated warmth. "If you were my kid, I'd be very hurt and upset. Do you know the statistics on kidnapping? Over ninety percent of children who are kidnapped are those who run away from home due to familial issues. A lot of those kidnapped kids end up…" he stops realizing this isn't right. Reid can't rattle off the rest of the fact with Callie giving him puppy eyes. "Next time, think about how your parents feel when you run away. Think about all the pain and consider if scaring them is worth the risks."

Before Callie can get another word in, she's pulled out of the car and into her mom's arms. "I swear to God if you ever leave like that, I'll buy a leash." JJ warned having an urge to smack her daughter's backside but the urge disappears as Callie hugs her back even tighter. She's never hugged her like this before. It's a sort of desperate hug that has JJ feeling guilty for lying. The mother kisses her daughter's cheeks. "Thanks Spence, thank you so much."

"Yah wanna stay for dinner?" Will asked gratefully while holding Michael who snuggles into his chest. "And ah, maybe stay a little longer cause we just got word we gotta…leave a little earlier than expected?"

"I'd love to, but first, I'll get my stuff and tell Garcia." Spencer decides to give the family some time to re-adjust to this tiny act of rebellion. The couple nods understandingly at him as they steer Callie inside. They're on either side of her, both a bit worried she'll run off again.

They guide Callie into the kitchen and nod to a stool. Henry is coloring on another one and Will puts Mike in his bouncy seat. The six month old gleefully kicks his legs in response swinging back and forth. Callie has to press her lips together to keep from snickering. Mike is only ever giddy in his swing. The parents decide to address this issue of Callie running off when she's angry once again. JJ takes the lead. "Listen to me, no matter how angry you are with us, you never open your door when someone is driving."

"Wow, you did that? You're like a superhero." Henry bursts into the conversation. "Was it cool? I bet it was. Did you roll out like they do on the T.V. shows? Like I saw Superman do that once and Kim Possible does it too." His parents shoot him a look and Callie nods at him. The little boy smiles at her.

"Don't encourage him, Callie." JJ warned. "What you did was dangerous, if you wanted a break from me; you should've said something and walked the rest of the way home. What you don't do is run away to spite me. That's selfish and wrong." Callie huffs noisily causing Henry to copy her and making Will pinch his brow; great now they have two teenagers on their hands. "Henry William, knock it off. Callie, you're mad at me and that's fair, but don't you ever risk your life to make a point again. Is that understood?"

Both kids look abashed. Henry pouts into his drawing coloring with consternation at one point breaking a crayon. The mother squeezes her son's hand gently. Callie is trying to formulate the right way to say this. She isn't going to tell them about Bug. He's not exactly the most law-abiding guy. "I wasn't trying to make a point. I wanted to think." Callie's tears sting her eyes angrily. She doesn't want to cry. "I don't understand okay? I thought you said…you said you'd always be honest with me but you weren't. I want you to be…I want to, I'm fucking trying okay? Like I've never tried this much before and you lying freaking sucks."

JJ studies her daughter. She looks her up and down trying to profile her. After another moment the mom sighs. "You're right. I shouldn't have lied to you. I'm sorry babe. I was only trying to protect you."

"Is my dad…is he really a bad guy?"

"No," JJ replied automatically. That wasn't the smartest thing to say to her right now. Deciding to be more logical about this, JJ frowns. "Well I want to believe he's not a bad guy, but I don't know him that well. Your, we wanted to make sure you weren't hurt."

Callie puts on a brave face. "I can take care of myself."

"Oh I know you can, but let me baby you and help okay? It makes me feel needed and I'll let you in on a secret, moms love feeling like their kids need them." JJ said taking Callie's face and kissing the girl's cheeks. Henry shoots his mom a look causing JJ to follow suit with her eldest son who nods. Will ruffles his boy's hair. "So can you do your mom a favor and pretend you need my help every once in a while?" In return, the teen nods with flushed cheeks. "Thanks babe, you know I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

"We aren't perfect Cal. We do our best is all." Will explained in laymen's terms.

"So I guess this means we're meeting him tomorrow." Callie keeps her tone even, despite trying to conceal the worry that's trembling inside.

The mother shakes her head, even Tanya said that'd be detrimental. " _We_ aren't doing anything, Will and I are going but you aren't." The girl huffs. "We're going to talk to him and then we'll talk to you about everything that happened with him." Maybe not everything, but the key points; JJ should've known lying to Callie would be harder than it is with Henry. "And as a family, we'll deal with the outcome whatever it may be."

"You think he won't want to meet me." The kid remarked as she studies her mother's eyes.

JJ quickly averts contact back onto the road. "I never said that." How can a fourteen year old read her without so much as blinking and whenever JJ tries to read Callie it seems near impossible? Will resists the urge to grin at the pair, they're so much alike; they have their walls, but once you break them down…they're mush.

"You didn't have to." Callie surprises the profiler with her adept way of reading people. There's a part of JJ that wonders if her daughter's experience in foster care aided in shaping this skill. The young teen thinks everything over once again. She isn't angry more so upset that they didn't tell her about meeting with Robert. This home is supposed to be different than the ones before. They're supposed to talk and care and shit. She glances at her mother with a certain softness appearing in those icy blue eyes. "Don't I get to a vote?"

"Not this time."

"Not ever, you mean."

"Callie, we ain't trying to take away your voice. In fact we want to hear your voice." Will remarked causing the teen to roll her eyes. "We love hearing it; more than anything. But, this is…this is gonna be intense and we don't want yah to feel like you're on display. I know yah weren't real ready for everything that's happened so far, but – yah know what? If you wanna come with us, then yah can. I'm not gonna stop you." JJ's eyes are wide. She isn't sure where her husband's going with this.

With reluctance and furrowed brows, Callie swallows. She didn't think they would agree. In fact, Callie was kind of hoping they wouldn't to give her a chance to bail out without actually wimping out. "I-I think…you've gotta tell me everything that happens okay?" The young girl bites down on her lower lip. She wishes she had the balls to want to meet him, but meeting the woman who gave birth to her is different than the guy who helped out.

"Okay, honey." JJ agreed with a nod.

"And if I gotta be straight with you about my life then you gotta be straight with me too cause I-I don't want to run away anymore. I want to not do that." Callie sets her terms shocking the parents who share a grin. This is definitely progress.

"Deal, but that only extends to things that include you. You know, we want you not to do it either...how about whenever you feel like you want to then you tell us and take a walk or go for a run instead? Just tell us before okay?" JJ affirmed causing Callie to nod. She feels her husband nudge her and glances not-so-subtly at the oven clock. "I'm glad we worked this all out mostly. But, no more running off. You do it again and there'll be serious consequences." The teenager nods with her eyes cast down. "Okay, well you two, Auntie Pen and Uncle Spence are coming over to watch you guys until probably this time tomorrow. Are we all okay with that?"

Henry pulls a face before nodding. "M'kay," he said.

"Wait, why don't I just babysit them till you guys get back?" Callie thinks this is generous, she can mind her brothers until they get back. Henry's pretty easy and Callie's changed Michael's diaper once before…it was disgusting and gross, but she'll suffer through it.

The blonde profiler exchanges a serious look with her husband. "Babe, we aren't having our fourteen year old watch her seven year old and eleven month old brothers." Callie shrugs turning her attention onto a sheet of paper she's using to draw. Somehow coloring brings her back to the days she spent in the hospital, where she got her nickname. It wasn't awful really, being in a hospital, everyone was nice to her and she got ice-cream.

"Callie doesn't hafta watch me." Henry declared as Will covers a laugh with a cough. If either of the kids sees he's laughing, he'll be so done for. "But, I can watch her." Okay, he can't hold it back. Will outright chuckles at the idea of letting their seven year old son watch their fourteen year old daughter. Henry is less than pleased with his father. "I can watch Callie, Dad."

Callie's eyes are wide, insulted that her brother even has the gall to suggest such a thing. "You can barely see over the counter, you sure as shit aren't watching me." JJ gives her daughter's side a warning pinch. At the moment, Henry is kind of sensitive about his height.

"I'll be bigger than you someday and you get in more trouble than me." The little boy puts his hands on his hips looking a lot like his father when he gets into a certain mood. JJ pinches the bridge of her nose. She swears having three kids is going to give her way too many grey hairs.

"That's cause you're a dork." Callie muttered into her sketch.

Henry proclaimed angrily. "I am not!"

"Aunt Pen and Uncle Spence are in charge and that's final." JJ declared and with that, she hoists Mike into her arms leaving the kitchen and her bickering offspring. Will stays behind long enough to scold them. JJ swears they were best friends a second ago and now they're each other's worst enemy. She looks down at her youngest. "Mikey, promise me you'll never grow up." He shoots his mother a very serious look causing JJ to grin. "What? You're so serious little Bear. What're you solving world problems Mike?" She laughed as she plops her son into his playpen, Mike stares up at his mother watching as she starts packing.

Actually, yes, that's exactly what he was doing.


	12. Don't You Worry Child

Thank you guys for the reviews! I really appreciate that you like my story. If you guys have any tips or ideas feel free to say so. I do my best to incorporate your ideas and mine! This is a wicked fast update because I won't be able to update for a little while! Hope you like it. Go Patriots!

* * *

Chapter 12

* * *

Penelope can't stop tapping her foot in trepidation. She's doing her best to control it, but somehow she can't. The techie takes a deep breath trying to keep her heart rate at a normal pace, but it seems near impossible.

Tanya peers over at her from a file trying and failing to conceal the grin that forms. "You have absolutely no reason to be nervous you know." The social worker stated, however the blonde can't help thinking of the illegal deeds she may have committed in the past that were possibly wiped from her record years ago. It wasn't like any of them were bad, in fact, she caught a lot of creeps before even joining Hotch's team.

"I'm not…well I sort of do, don't I? This meeting could make or break me."

Tanya chuckled kindly. "Ms. Garcia, I think you've been watching too much Lifetime. Your home visit was the meeting to be worried about and you passed that with flying colors." Both figuratively and literary, her colleague described Penelope's house as being as much. "You live in a home with enough space to raise a child in a safe neighborhood. Your neighbors couldn't stop bragging about you. I don't think I've ever met neighbors who like someone as much." Not even Tanya's neighbors sing as much praise.

"Oh the Greeley's are so sweet. I take care of their dog, Ginger, whenever they're out of town." Penelope replied grinning at the thought of Sylvie and Larry, they're such a sweet couple and Ginger is the best dog ever. She a love-bug. "Tanya…what're the chances of me ever having a child?"

"Penelope," Tanya's tone becomes soft. "The possibility of adoption as a single parent is not out of reach, especially with your references. I can help in speeding up the process of you being a foster parent which is a step towards becoming an adoptive parent." Her supervisor is very new age. "It'll be a lengthy process filing for adoption as a single parent. I'm not saying it's impossible, it can happen." Garcia nods doing her best to ignore the sound of her cell vibrating. "Look, I'll tell it to you straight; adopting as a single parent takes more time than it should, but eventually with time you can be a parent."

Garcia answered. "I hope so."

* * *

"Why'd Auntie P leave so early?" Callie asked nibbling on a piece of peanut butter toast. Aunt Penelope was up even before Callie went on her easy 5-mile run. She and her mom sometimes go together, but more often than not; Callie prefers to go on her own. JJ likes to race her and wins most of the time which annoys Callie to no end being that she inherited her mom's competitive nature.

"I don't know." Reid squints at the board. He's trying to teach Callie chess, she's a pretty decent but has a long way to go before she comes close to beating him. She's a little too impatient for chess too. Her last move with the pawn was smart, unexpected. "Are you sure you've never played chess before?"

Callie's eyes are sparkled with amusement. Henry appears bored with this development. He doesn't want to watch them play this game anymore when he wants to play Sorry. "Uncle Spencer, you said five more minutes and the big hand is two numbers away from where you said. So that's uh…ten minutes." The seven year old whined; he's only just starting to learn to tell time. Granted, the first grader would prefer digital clocks to analog but that's beside the point. His godfather promised and Uncle Spencer never ever breaks his word. "Please can we play Sorry now? You can be blue Callie." His promise makes Callie half-grin, he knows that her favorite color.

"Thanks squirt." Callie acknowledged knowing blue is Henry's second favorite color therefore this is a very kind sacrifice he's making. Her little brother beams at her.

"You're right Henry. Do you have Sorry set up?" Spencer asked. He follows after the little boy leaving Callie who is too busy wondering what the fuck is going on with Robert. "Callie," Reid's voice brings her back to reality. "Bring Michael in with you." Callie obeys hoisting the gurgling seven month old into her arms. The baby appraises his sister with those LaMontange green eyes and white-blonde hair. "You okay?" Reid studies his teenage niece in concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Callie said batting his hand away. "JJ and Will told you that some friends of mine are coming over to do a project didn't they?" Spencer nods mumbling in agreement while Henry pouts.

"Not fair, how come you never play with me anymore?" The little boy complained.

Callie responded. "We're playing right now."

"But, we don't usually play unless you're in trouble or you're bored." Henry's astute observation has his older sister reeling. She never thought of it like that.

A lump of guilt forms in Callie's chest. She isn't trying to exclude Henry out of her life. The fourteen year old guides Mike into his kitchen seat. "I uh…I'll play with you tonight – after we're done okay? We can build a fort and have a Disney movie marathon all right?" Callie offered as Reid watches the pair; Henry considers this seriously. It sounds fair enough. The profiler grins at Callie who despite putting on a brave face appears distracted and rightfully so. JJ explained everything last night about how they were going to see Robert Perry. The entire team is planning on coming over later tonight to distract JJ's mini-me.

* * *

"Wait out here, Soph."

"Alex," she protested in a soft little voice.

The older brother turns sighing. He swears Sophia is his one crutch. She's the only person in this entire world that can make him turn on his heels with a single word. "Dad didn't leave us enough since he's gonna be away for a while we've gotta improvise." Frank left a few hours before Belle's party muttering that he'd be back after Jade.

"But, what if you get caught? I don't want him to hurt you." Sophia whispered choked, tears sting her Karvelle green eyes.

"Aw c'mon Soph, don't cry." Alex wipes her cheeks. "I'll be fine. I don't get caught. Remember when I took those candy bars on Christmas?" She nods putting on a brave face. "So, a jar of peanut butter and some bread will be a snap compared to that." He promised. Sophia nods with a watery grin. "After this, I'm gonna drop you off at Belle's and head over to Callie's for a project. Lucy will be there so you aren't gonna be alone. Chances are she'll have Josie with her." He's referring Isabelle's house-keeper Lucy and the woman's granddaughter, Josie. She's a year or so younger than Sophia, but they're still good friends.

The brown haired girl nods solemnly. "Will you come back for me?" She asked innocently as Alex plucks a loaf of white bread off the shelf and shoves it into his pocket.

"What kind of question is that? I'll always be here, no matter what." Alex ruffles her hair.

"Good...can I swipe the peanut butter?" Sophia is bouncing in excitement. The idea of stealing like her big brother seems fun. He's her hero. Sophia wants to be just like him someday; brave. He always stands up to their daddy…even when he gets mean. Anyway if Alex can do it, then so she can too. The brother frowns, if he says no, she'll end up whining at the hypocrisy so instead he nods.

Alex warned. "Don't get caught."

"Duh," the nine year old skips off excitedly making Alex roll his eyes. Good thing, Belle already has peanut butter at her house. She isn't going to care if they use it. But, the male would prefer they use their own stuff. He doesn't like feeling indebted to people, no matter how much he loves one.

Hotch, Rossi, and Jack roam the aisles in search of party favors. They've been assigned by Penelope to pick up any and all delicious treats for dinner tonight. Everyone on the team has signed up to distract Callie from the fact that her parents are currently speaking with her biological father. Jack and Henry haven't be appraised of the situation, but the eleven and nearly eight year old are too young to understand these kinds of things yet.

Jack knows something is going on though. His dad is talking too much and Uncle Dave is being nice. As he walks past an aisle doing a cursory glance inside, he sees a girl with brown hair past her shoulders shoving something into her shirt. His deep green eyes widen and the fifth grader stops, confused. He's never seen anyone steal anything in front of him like that before.

"Uncle Dave," the boy said tugging on his surrogate uncle's sleeve. The author glances down all the while trying to ignore his ruffled shirt. "If you see someone do something bad, should you tell on them?"

A surge of seriousness floods Rossi's eyes. They would be the ones to get caught in a hold-up right now, perfect timing. Dave swears in the very, very, very far off future he and the Big Man upstairs are going to exchange words about his obscure sense of humor. "What did you see Jack?"

"I-I don't know."

"Jack," Dave adopts a firmer tone.

Rolling his eyes in frustration, Jack glances up at his uncle looking a lot like his father. "I saw a girl take a jar off the shelf and stuff it into her pocket." As if on cue, the girl saunters past them with glee dancing in her eyes and Rossi doesn't even have to ask but Jack whispers to him anyway. "That's her."

"Ah, doesn't look much like a pauper to me." Rossi's comment is lost on Jack. He is reminded of his age at this moment and winces. "Your dad is in the ice-cream aisle, go find him." The man waits until he sees Jack with Aaron before going over to the young girl. "Stealing, little one, is never okay but," he glances at her bulging pocket. "You may want to consider improving your technique because if I can tell it's there just by looking at you then I promise the clerk will notice too."

Sophia's mouth falls open, however in a matter of seconds Alex is at her side. Her protector. "Back away from my sister." The teen stands in front of Sophia. David raises his eyebrows; the boy is tensing as though he's ready to be hit. In the end, he recognizes the behavior for what it truly is instantly.

"You got it, but your little sister seems to have stolen…" Rossi opens her jacket a little, "Creamy Peanut Butter. Huh, I'm more of Chunky guy if I do say so myself." Alex swallows hard. "Did you put her up to this? What? Did you think if she got caught the store wouldn't make as big of a deal out of it? You did, didn't you?" Dave's intense gaze makes Alex's eyes widen. _Ah so that wasn't the right conclusion then_ , the older profile thought. This kid seems to genuinely care about his kid sister; it's sweet.

"No! Of course not, I-I…we were just hungry okay? C'mon So-Sabrina let's go." Alex responded shooting the squinting nine year old a look to go with it.

Sophia agreed. "Okay, Alan." She would pick an old dudes name that sounds fake.

"You two aren't going anywhere. I'm calling your parents."

"Yes sir, we understand." Alex responded as Sophia's eyes go wide. If their dad finds out what they almost did, he'll go nuts. He'll be so mad, real bad mad. Dave nods turning his back slightly on the kids to fish out his phone, both children know better than to make a break for it. Sophia might not, but she guesses since Alex isn't running then she won't either. However, what he fails to realize is their closeness to the dairy. In record breaking time, Alex takes a carton of milk off the cooled shelf popping it open and pouring it on the man. "Run!" The boy takes his sister's hand sprinting with all his might.

Dave meanwhile is standing there, too stunned to move. No one has ever done that to him before. He didn't even think things like this happened outside of idiotic teenage movies about rebelling. The profiler is frozen for a minute trying to ignore the fact that milk is making his expensive shirt sticky. Upon realizing he shouldn't let these little brats out of his sight, it's too late. They're gone, vanished into thin air with no trace behind them.

And to make matters worse, Hotch comes over with Jack; one is frowning while the other is doing his best to fend off fits of giggles. "Do I even want to know what happened?" Aaron asked doing his best to keep from smiling meanwhile Jack isn't even trying. The father nudges his son. "See, I told you getting out of the house would do us some good."

"You don't." Rossi said ignoring the strange looks and snickers he receives as he stomps to the front of the store with Aaron and Jack following with shared grins. Huffing to himself, Dave sighs. "This is why I have a personal shopper. If anyone else hears so much as a peep about milk tonight; you'll regret it."

* * *

Rob.

He looks just as JJ remembers; striking and handsome. But, not as rugged – when they were dating he had stubble. His sun stroked skin was a tinted brown color, now it pales in comparison. And he's wearing a suit too; Rob swore he'd never wear those. Now that JJ really sees him walking towards her composed and together he doesn't look anything like he used to. In fact, he looks like a stranger to her.

"JJ," Robert's hazel blue eyes light up a little. Will sneaks a glance at his wife who offers him a warm grin, the same smile she wore on their wedding day. They made it to Roanoke in about two hours and booked a hotel. Neither of them slept a wink last night, but somehow they arrived a little late to Perry International. Robert commented. "You look as beautiful as ever." The man's eyes linger on his ex-girlfriend a millisecond longer than Will cares for and he clears his throat. The CEO swallows. "And this must be your husband ah–"

"Will LaMontange," the cop stands greeting his foster daughter's daddy. Looking at Robert now, he can see a resemblance to Callie, mostly around her chin and nose. "Pleasure to meet yah finally." They say people can't hold a ten-minute conversation without lying at least once. Well, here's his first lie. Actually, it's his second – he told a waitress this morning that his eggs were delicious.

Robert rubs his neck. "Yeah I'm sorry about that, Cheryl and I must have had a miscommunication or something. So, you guys have an invention to show me or ah what? I don't usually do one-on-one meetings like this, but when I heard it was you...so what's up?"

"No, we're uh…" JJ can't seem to formulate sentences. Her tongue feels numb, like she had just gone to the dentist and there's this lump in her throat. After Will gives her hand a squeeze, JJ composes herself and studies her ex-boyfriend. There's a slight anger flickering inside her. He can't look at her like he cares when he left all those…this is about Callie, not her. JJ refocuses. "There's something I have to tell you and it's going to be a lot to take, but know that I only just found out about her…well I knew but I thought she died." Rob's eyes widen. "Okay, so I'm just going to come right out and say it. We have a daughter."

"Excuse me?"

JJ rambled. "Fifteen years ago, I had a baby…and she died. I mean I thought she died, but…"

"What?" Robert takes a sip of his water. "So you had our kid and she died?" A growing sense of pain burns like a heart-attack in his chest. Having two young children and hearing that one died, one he wasn't even aware of; stings. The CEO's gaze turns sour. "After all these years, why the hell would you tell me something like that now?" He could've gone the rest of his life without having known that.

"Robert, she didn't die. Callie…I thought she died after I gave birth to her. But, she didn't. It turns out Dr. Frye, the doctor on call switched our baby with a stillborn that had died earlier that night." The profiler explained studying his features for any detection of malice or hatred. She's finding…none. If anything Robert looks slightly relieved to hear his child didn't die. Then as he considers her words, he appears rightfully worried. "She was in the system for a while." Robert looks away guiltily; he can't imagine what it was like for the kid.

Will cut in. "Until she came to our door one day askin' ta be emancipated. Then we decided it'd be in Callie's best interest for her ta stay with us. So the judge put her in our custody."

There's silence, a moment to take in their words and let them resonate before Robert shatters it all with one single but certainly loaded question. "Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant before?"

"You left." JJ answered glaring at the accusatory tone he has the gall to adopt.

"So? You could've looked for me, asked around." Robert replied, although knowing once he left his family made it near impossible for anyone they deemed unworthy to find him. And back then there wasn't any Facebook to find someone instantly. If someone had enough wealth, they could disappear easily.

"Don't you think I did that?" JJ questioned. For two weeks, she asked anyone in contact with the Perry's about Robert. She did the best she could. "I tried Robert, but your family closed ranks so I decided I'd wait until after the baby was born. I even wrote a letter. At the time I had no clue where I'd send it, but I…I was going to tell you about it after I had her. But, after…I thought she died and I didn't want to burden you with it. I decided this was going to be my torch to carry."

Robert huffs angrily at her. "That wasn't your decision to make, JJ. She was – is my kid too." He snapped causing Will to clench his fist as though warning the man to drop his tone. "Look," the CEO sighs wishing for probably the millionth time today that he could rewrite history. "I like to think I would've done right by you, but I don't know. I really don't know. That summer," he chuckles lightly. It was the best time of his life being with JJ. "That summer…I was a jerk okay? I was twenty-three and thought I knew everything." JJ nods. That's as much of an apology as she'll likely ever get. "Is Callie short for something?"

"Caroline," the Louisiana-born said. "But, she'll tear yah apart if yah call her anything but Callie."

"Sounds a lot like someone else I know." Robert remembers the summer he and JJ were together like it was yesterday. God, that summer. If only his family hadn't threw a wrench into things by threatening to keep his inheritance from him. If only he had been strong enough to stand up to them. "Grandma Carrie would've loved that, having someone named after her."

JJ responded, not out of malice, but honesty. "I never got to name her. That was the Scotts, the ones who had her before they gave her up." She gains courage by Will's eyes and continues. If it had been up to JJ, she would've named her daughter Rosaline or Charlotte. However, JJ has to admit out of all the Perry's she liked the elderly woman best. Caroline Perry had a delightfully amusing way about her. She was blunt and simply hilarious, she didn't give a crap about societal norms. She danced in public and went through life to the beat of her own drum which annoyed her family to no end. "The reason they gave her up if you were wondering is because she has HCM."

"She has HCM?" Robert feels guilt crash into him. Neither of his sons; thank God, has it, but he and his father do. HCM isn't a terminal disease by any means, but…it makes you have to slow down. "Shit, I'm sorry about that." His office phone is ringing but the CEO ignores it.

"I don't blame you and neither does Callie." JJ explained softly as Will nods, even though they both worry every day; she's all right. "She takes her pills every day and has regular check-ups. If anything Callie tries to push herself to go even faster than everyone else because of it."

Will chuckled. "You should see her on the soccer field. Nearly gives us a heart attack every time she gets checked and every time she knocks someone else out."

"I bet." The man smiles softly. He wants to know his daughter, but a part of him knows if this comes out; he'll be finished. His political career will be rubbish.

"Rob, the reason we came was…to first tell you about Callie but we also wanted to know whether you wanted a relationship with her." The blonde stated watching as her ex-boyfriend leans back in his chair. The way his desk is shielding his body, you would think it was a castle of sorts; protective and with-holding. A moment passes and the stillness lingering in the air lasts quite a long time.

The man purses his lips. "Ah," he swallows sharply. He wants to. Robert doesn't have any daughter's just two little boys who mean the world to him, but are their mother's sons. His sister Julie has three children, two of which are girls. And they adore his brother-in-law, Grant. "I…I can't." JJ glances at him in such disdain that Robert flashes back to when he first introduced her to his family and everyone, save Gran made their disapproval known. "Now's just not a good time for me. I have my campaign coming up and a scandal like this. It'd ruin me. I want to. I do, but…I–" before he can say anything more JJ gets up shooting him a withering scowl. "JJ, come on. Maybe we can try for another time that works."

"Not a good time for you? How can you…" JJ takes a deep breath. "No, you don't just get to decide when you want to be a parent; it's a full-time job, either you're in or you're out."

"I know that. Don't you think I know that? I have two of my own. I'm thinking of their well-being, finding out they have a sister could be hard on them." Robert lied through his teeth. If anything Sebastian and Teddy would love hearing they have another siblings, especially a girl, they would revel in teasing her constantly like they do on the television show Jessie.

His ex-girlfriend scowled bitterly. "You still can't lie to save your life." She hears her husband sigh beside her, sucking in his cheeks with a trace of disdain. The profiler closes her eyes briefly before leveling a stern glare with the CEO. "I knew coming here would be a mistake and you know what? I was hoping I'd be wrong that maybe just maybe you were still be the Robert I knew, but you aren't that guy anymore. So congrats, you proved me right and I hate it. I didn't want to be right. I wanted to be wrong. I wanted so badly to be wrong."

"Cher," Will whispered softly.

JJ continued ignoring her husband. "You care more about your image than you do your daughter." Robert starts to protest, but JJ being the mama bear she is, isn't having anything of it. "Don't, but let me tell you something. She's an amazing kid. She's beautiful and funny and honest and a fighter. She's such a fighter…and her life has been hard, way harder than it should've been." The blonde sighs. "Look, I came here for Callie – and you doing this is awful. So, I'm going to go and never come back and you don't get to meet our amazing kid. Goodbye Robert." This is the first time JJ's ever said his full-name, usually she calls him Rob or had on special occasion referred to him as Robbie.

"JJ, it just isn't a good time for me right now. The public can be really cruel sometimes. I'm looking out for her best interest too. Imagine what the press would say."

"Do you remember the one thing you feared? I mean really feared?" JJ questioned. "Well, you became you own worst fear. You're a real Perry now, Robert." The scorned woman storms out leaving Robert stunned.

Will lingers behind. He loves Callie and knows hearing that her daddy doesn't want to see her because of how it'll look…will set her back. He stands. "I ain't gonna apologize for JJ cause we both know she hit the nail dead on." Robert glances at the cop abashed; he can't even look at the pictures of his boys right now. The Southerner purses his lips. "Lookit, we all ave' a few big decisions that come around in this life and we don't even think of em' as being that big till after they pass. I'm gonna do yah a favor. Right here, right now, at this moment; it's big decision time and how yah choose to decide is gonna stay with you. For the rest of your life," the silence he receives is deafening as Will rubs his brow gearing to leave and stopping to tap his knuckles against the door. "Good luck with your campaign Mr. Perry."

* * *

Reid and Garcia have taken the little guys out to give Callie some time to do their project. They said they're going to come back around dinnertime with pizza. Callie doubted at first they'd take as long of a time, mostly because they're going to do a project on quotes. Each of them is going to find a quote that speaks to them and they're all going to tie them together…somehow.

Aviva has already shot down several of Isabelle's quotes. This is due to the fact that a lot of them are from Fifty Shades of Grey. Wyatt's quote by George Orwell, happiness can exist only in acceptance was approved as was Alex's by the Dalai Lama, don't let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace. Aviva's quote by Winston Churchill, success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm was all right. Callie is attempting to find one as of now while Viva and Belle bicker.

"How did you get that?" Alex asked after seeing Callie pull up her sleeves. At the blonde's confused frown, he gently touches the formerly burned flesh. It's a scab now, well not a scab but the skin has fallen into the creases similar to a book when you bend the pages inward. Callie shivers away. "It looks old and like it hurt." For once he doesn't sound contemptuous, but actually kind.

"Uh, it's nothing, just a birth mark." Callie goes with the lie she's told many before. She looks around making sure no one else is listening, Wyatt is bumping to his music while Belle and Viva are still arguing. Honestly, the blonde could care less if Aviva hears, but she doesn't want the others to know.

Alex looks at her. He really looks at her with all-knowing eyes. "Oh my mistake," he dips his head in false acknowledgement. Alex knows a burn when he sees one. His dad has never done that to him, it's a cliché but Frank prefers swinging his belt or using his fists. "Hope you got the dick back." He muttered. "Least you're with good people now though." Callie's eyes widen and he shrugs in return. "What? I call it like I see it; anyway it doesn't take a genius to figure out you're a foster kid. You call your parents by their first names and they're cool with it. Hey, I don't plan on telling anyone."

"Thanks for not being a dick…for once." Callie responded as Wyatt frowns pulling off his headphones.

"Why are you two being nice to each other?"

Callie is the first to recover. "I asked him what his quote was – and of course, he stole the one I wanted." A forced glare forms on Alex's face. "But, luckily I found a better one by Andy Warhol." She clicks back on her phone going to the last page she was looking at. "They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself."

"Finally, you found a decent quote." Aviva stated as she checks the clock. "Belle found a sub par one too; I guess that means we're done. We can make a Google Docs and intertwine them. Of course, I'll edit everything you do to make sure you guys don't ruin it." Everyone rolls their eyes in return, but stand nonetheless gearing to leave and it seems to be perfect timing too because Wyatt's mom which includes Aviva is here. Belle's driver is pulling into the driveway and Alex opts for walking. He needs to think. As the others file out of the living room, Aviva hesitates beside Callie. "I'm not going to edit yours, because we both know you're fine. But the rest of them…oh they're getting edited the minute I make the Docs."

Somehow Aviva has it in her head that Callie is a on her level intellectually. This is an accomplishment since Aviva Goldberg rarely if ever trusts anyone enough. Callie decides to take this route rather than thinking anything else, because well, Aviva is Aviva. She waits behind with Alex. He seems to be quietly brooding or maybe he's worried.

"My dad's coming back tomorrow."

"I didn't know he left." Callie purses her lips frowning a bit. "Is that why you brought Sophia last night?"

Alex nods. "Nicky and Jake are with their grandparents…we have different moms. His grandparents are nice, but they can hardly take on the twins. Jade left and then dad left too." He shrugged. "Anyway, I know how Belle gets when she drinks." Honestly, she gets slutty and Alex would rather she get flirty with him than another guy who'd probably screw her; it's safer this way.

"Yeah I-I get." Callie's take on Alex Karvelle is that he likes to be there even though he's broken too. "But, I think Sophia likes going. She gets something to brag about to the kids in her class. What other fourth grader goes to high school parties?" Callie knows she would be grounded forever if she ever took Henry to a party. "She eats all the junk food she wants and stays up late watching movies. It's every fourth grader's dream."

"Oh yeah she does, little too much. I'm kinda worried she's gonna be fat someday." Alex's worries are lighthearted and make Callie pull a face. It shouldn't be his job to worry about things like that. She couldn't imagine having to take on such responsibilities like being in constant charge of a fourth grader not to mention his toddler half-brothers. It really must be hard. No wonder he's such an ass.

Callie punches him. "Who cares if she is? She'll still be my favorite Karvelle."

Alex rolls his eyes as the front door opens to none other than Aaron, Jack, and Rossi. The Italian recognizes his evil milk-doer instantly and grabs him. "Dude what the hell?" The teenage boy looks up cringing in dismay. "Oh shit, how did you find me? There are laws against stalking, you know."

"Uncle Dave, what are you doing?" Callie demanded looking at Jack and Hotch who are too snickering.

"This guy's your uncle?" Alex looks up at the ceiling scowling. "Oh fucking course."

* * *

JJ can't even think about eating right now. Honestly, she doesn't even remember ordering Chinese until Will came back with the bags of food in hand. He puts them down on their mini-kitchenette kind of table and goes over to his wife wrapping his arms around her, holding tight.

"Everything's gonna be all right, Cher."

"No it's not. This is such a mess. We can't know that it'll all be fine, because it won't. She's going to be crushed when she hears about this and it sucks." She said feeling the guilt nag at her while wishing they could've kept this a secret from Callie. "How are we going to tell her?"

Will has to take a minute to think. "We'll sit down and talk it over with her. My guess is she's gonna try to push us away when she finds out, but – how about we try not to let that happen?" JJ nods still looking unconvinced of pretty much everything; she didn't want to share Callie, but a part of her knows getting acquainted with Robert would have been in their daughter's best interest. "Cher, there's enough." His words make JJ glance up.

"What are you talking about?" JJ asked in a snappy sort of way.

"We love her enough. I love her and I know damn well you love her too. That's all that matters. We just gotta show her that she's loved enough and she is. We've got an army of people who love her too." Her husband promised all the while cracking a warm grin and motioning for the blonde to eat. "Now I'm gonna be honest, I dunno if I ever told yah but I fell in love with you for your appetite."

The profiler smirks seeing through him but goes over to the table nonetheless. "Huh, I fell in love with you for your deep pockets." She teased causing the amused couple to share a laugh then look at one another, really look at one another the way soul-mates do. JJ pours some fried rice onto her plate then licks her lips tensely. "Tell me she's going to be okay. I know it's not true, but tell me anyway." Her eyes are glued to the plate.

Will grasps onto her hand giving it a squeeze. "She's going to be okay."

* * *

Garcia plops down across from her niece in the kitchen table. Her friend Alex had a 'talk' with Rossi about a private matter before the kid wandered off. He seemed pretty rattled afterwards, scared even. But, as he was leaving the house he winked playfully at Callie, letting his friend know Dave wasn't actually cruel to him. The Italian profiler put on his scary face too, although there are hints of slight amusement in his eyes. However, Alex leaving occurred an hour ago and currently, Callie is doing her best to keep her temper under control while eating dinner with everyone. She, Jack, Henry, and Meg have just finished constructing the best fort ever.

Of which the other girl is beginning to piss her off.

She can be such a know-it-all sometimes.

When they first met, Callie sort of liked Meg. But, now things feel different. Like Meg is trying too hard to prove she's perfect and by doing so she has to rattle off lists upon lists of accomplishments. Anyway, Callie can't help thinking about what happened with Robert. _Am I going to end up like one of those divorced parent kids and see Robert on weekends?_ That would suck. _When would I hang out with her friends?_ And meeting his family is going to be awkward, especially because he has two kids from his first marriage and a new wife right now. This is like an awful Lifetime Movie or something. Then again, he might not even want to get to know her at all.

"Callie, how's school going? Fortitude Grace seems like a fun place." Kate said causing the blonde teenager to nod, her thoughts are elsewhere and it's showing.

Henry pokes her. "Your face is scrunched up."

"And your face...oh bite me, Henry." Callie doesn't want to play this game right now. She's too busy being nervous about her future. At the moment, she wishes she had gone with her parents.

"Uncle Spencer, Callie's being mean." Her little brother tattled.

Spencer glances at the pair. They seemed as thick as thieves a second ago. Jack appears to be watching this interaction with a hint of jealousy. He wishes he had siblings. Being an only child is the most boring thing in the entire world. "Callie, be nice to your brother." The genius responded in kind.

"Whatever," she answered rolling her eyes in frustration. The attitude alone startles Spencer, usually Callie is much more respectful to him. She stabs some pasta with her fork. There's silence and Callie knows everyone is profiling her, she looks around the table and upon seeing Meg roll her eyes scowls in frustration. This is ridiculous.

"Hey baby cakes, drop the attitude down from Mean Girls to Clueless please." Garcia reprimanded with warning laced in her tone.

Callie muttered. "This is such bullshit." Everyone's always against her. It feels like they all think she's some sort of delinquent and it sucks being the family trouble-maker. How is it her fault that she maybe enjoys having a little bit more fun than everyone else. Hotch gives her a very steely look causing the blonde teen to swallow. "I ah...I mean may I please be excused?"

"Sure," Spencer responded in an understanding voice. He can tell Callie is gearing to run, but giving her some time alone will do her a world of good. As she passes him however, the genius stops her. "If you plan on leaving, tell me right now."

"Can I go for a walk?"

After the profiler nods ignoring everyone's looks of trepidation, Callie bids them farewell before venturing out the door and out of sight as well.. Being pretty smart herself, the teenage knows none of them agree with Reid's decision to let her go out. But, she needs a minute. She wanders and wanders to the local park which happens to be about ten minutes away. This is nice. She's been here before with Will, JJ, and the boys. She played soccer with JJ and pushed Michael and Henry on the swings. Henry then demanded she swing beside him which she did without giving it a second thought. Much to her surprise, Will pushed her while JJ had her left hand reserved for Michael and the right hand was for Henry. It was a good day. Even if she was grounded.

Callie sits down on the swing. It feels a bit wet from the dew.

"I know you, you're Henry's sister!" A little voice squealed with delight making Callie look up to see little Finley running towards her just about launching herself at the teen. And Callie has no doubts she would've if it hadn't been for...Sean grabbing her quickly. He somehow manages to hold onto her while keeping his other hand clasped around another girl.

"What are you doing here?" The voice. His voice. He sounds confused and a little pleased too, but mostly confused. His eyes are so blue, they're almost green which shouldn't work but it does.

"Seanie, I wanna go on the slide." The older one demanded, barely giving Callie a second glance.

"Then go on the slide, Mae. But, take Fin with you." He shoots his sister a look practically daring her to defy him and smirks when Maeve begrudgingly takes Finley's hand yanking her along. Sean plops down beside Callie on the swing. "Yeah, that's gonna come back to bite me."

Callie is a bit surprised. "Your Finley's brother?" That means the other little girl is Maeve. Henry's talked about her before once in a while, but usually he never stops blabbing about Finley.

"I am, how does Finny know you?"

"I'm Henry's sister."

Sean chuckled. "Henry LaMontange? I love that kid. He's really funny and I'm pretty sure he's the one who taught Finley to say freaking...but I got nailed for it." His eyes are sparkling and he glances over half-watching his baby sisters play. When he looks back at Callie, he pulls a face. "So by the look on your face, I guess this means you know now."

"Know what?" Callie plays dumb.

"Know about Con."

Callie swallows, she almost didn't expect him to say anything. "Did you not want me to know?"

"No, I just liked one person treating me normal. Nobody does anymore." Sean explained. He used to be the best hockey player in his class, now he's the guy who's little brother died of cancer. And he's also the guy who's dad took off promptly during Conor's treatment. He's messed up goods. But, it was nice to pretend he wasn't for one night.

"Yeah? Well, if you want normal then...then I think you're a stalker." Callie blurted causing the older teen to stare at her in mild yet amused confusion. He smiles. "I mean, how the hell did you know to come to this park? Of all the parks in Virginia? It's creepy."

Sean raises his eyebrows. "Me creepy? I think it's way creepier lurking around at a park."

"Whatever, Herron." The blonde teenager rolls her eyes with a smirk.

"You feel like hanging out sometime?" Sean asked suddenly. Callie glances over at him as though she's a little intrigued by his offer. A ghost of a grin forms and she nods causing Sean to smile back. However, their moment is slightly ruined when Maeve leaps on top of her brother.

"Come play with us, Seanie." She demanded stamping her foot after her brother stays put. "You said you would. So you hafta or else I'll tell mommy and she'll make you eat a million green beans and go to bed super early and you'll miss Jessie."

Her brother pretends to look horrified. "Well when you put it like that."

As if on cue, Finley is tugging on his other hand. Her gaze falls on Callie. They're learning in school about having to share and being the astute first grader she is; she goes over to Callie. "You play too. Henry says you can run real fast." There's a devious glint dancing in Finley's eyes.

The foster kid knows a challenge when she hears one. "Faster than you." That has Finley reeling and she takes off in a sprint causing Callie to immediately chase after the younger girl.

Sean chuckles to himself. There's something about Callie that isn't like any other girl he's ever met.


	13. To Build A Home

Thank you for all the awesome reviews. I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated. But I am going through some things and working on trying to update more regularly. I hope you like this. We're going to start delving into Callie's life a bit and drama with Robert. This takes place at Future Perfect. We're doing a bit of a time jump. Oh and as for Callie's burn it's on the under part of her arm so unless someone was looking for it, it wouldn't be seen. And Callie is subconscious of it so she makes sure it isn't seen very frequently.

P.S. Callie may or may not start calling JJ mom sometime in the VERY near future!

* * *

Chapter 13

* * *

"Callie, babe, are you okay?"

"Yeah sure why wouldn't I be?"

JJ shares a look with Will. This isn't good. Callie has her walls up again. "Honey, you know why. Come on sweets, talk to us. What's going through your head?"

"I'm fine. I don't even know the guy. Why should I care if he doesn't want me? This isn't some weird family movie okay? If he doesn't wanna know me, it's no biggie. What do I care?" Callie ignores the pain burning in her chest. She doesn't know why she's upset. If anything, she should be relieved. It wasn't like she expected it to work out. That would've been silly, to think that her dad wanted her like JJ did. A realization hits her; JJ didn't have to take her. She didn't have to introduce her to Henry and Mike or want anything to do with her…but she does. She wanted her even before she knew they were really related. And Will does too. He could've put his foot down from the start and said 'no' to Callie moving in with them – although the teen doubts he would've won that battle – but he didn't either. He's even been nice from her from the start too and he's had no cause to be.

"It's okay to be hurt, Trouble." Will has on a sympathetic face. Callie considers leaving, not to get away from them but to get away from all these things she's feeling. This is starting to feel way too much like a Full House episode. "Don't take off on us just yet. C'mon let's sit here and breathe. You don't hafta say nothing and I promise yah neither of us are gonna say a word either, but we're all gonna sit and take this in." He declared with an air of finality. Thank God, Mike is napping upstairs and Henry's at baseball practice or else Callie would've scoffed at this.

"I don't want to do this." Callie whispered.

"I know, but it's important you let yourself feel this, because bottling it up will only make it hurt more when you finally uncap it." The mother said in a soft tone watching as Callie tries with all her might not to cry. No one has ever told her straight out to not cry, but in her life she's been unconsciously conditioned to never show weakness, especially tears.

Deciding to go for it, JJ goes over to her holding tight. "What are you doing?" The teenager asked in a muffled, broken sort of voice. She's never met anyone who's so keen on being affectionate with her. Tanya has given her hugs before, but this is different; it's like second nature in this family.

"What does it look like? I'm holding you." Her mom replied ignoring Callie's tone.

"Well, just stop okay? I'm fine…I'm seriously fine." That's a lie, but she's not Henry's age. She doesn't need all this additional comfort. She isn't a baby. "I don't want you to right now, so lemme go cause I'm fine." The more Callie says it the more JJ and Will don't believe her.

JJ stays tough. "Too bad, because I want to." And there it is. The realization is engraving itself and Callie feels like a jerk. JJ and Will shouldn't be so kind. They've always been sweet to her and she's been a real bitch. "It's okay to be upset or angry or numb, but you to have feel something. I know you're feeling something, so whatever you're feeling; just let it out." She hears her mother whisper.

But, once she lets herself feel a tiny piece of the hurt that comes with knowing she isn't wanted…it's like the straw that finally breaks the camel's back. Tears rush down her cheeks like a waterfall that's out of her control. The last time she cried like this was ten years ago; right before an operation. The doctors had to carry her to the operating table – she was so scared. But, in Callie's defense it looked like the inside of an alien spaceship and usually she was put to sleep beforehand.

"Why doesn't he want me?" Callie whispered her lower lip wobbling.

And before she even realizes it, JJ is holding on tight. "Oh honey, sweet girl, we want you." She's murmuring reassurances but all Callie hears is buzzing. She's soaking it all in. Will watches the pair figuring in the end they needed a mama/daughter moment like this to get all their emotions out. This is good for the pair of them. Callie looks up at her mom.

"I'm sorry about being…how I am."

"Hey," JJ grasps Callie's chin frowning. "Never ever apologize for who you are because you're an amazing kid, an amazing kid. You're the best girl I know and we love you. We do, we love you so much. You know that don't you?" The fourteen year old nods melting into her mom's embrace. "Oh honey, oh baby. Shh, it's okay. You're okay." Rocking her, JJ cards a soothing hand through Callie's hair. A growing part of her despises Robert for causing Callie to have to take a step back in her progress. But maybe…this isn't all bad. Callie's finally opening up to them. Will is at their side as well, he hugs them both.

No one says anything else. They sit there soaking in one another's company. Sometimes, well most times, words aren't really needed. They're just used as a way to fill the noise.

 _Two Months Later_

Ben has his arms folded across his chest half-frowning. He ignores the smirk his best friend is shooting him, but he doesn't want to see like a dick in front of Meg. "How the fuck do you talk me into shit?" The curly haired teen asked in wonderment, more to himself than Callie who raises her eyebrows.

"No one forced you to come, B. You can get off at the next stop with _her_ if you like."

"Any particular reason you're being a dick today?" Ben whispered thankful that Meg is getting a snack at the cart and not in hearing distance or else she'd be hurt. She and Ben met at a post-Thanksgiving party; they hit it off too. Ben could tell her Uncle Chris didn't like that. This year he spent Thanksgiving with Jack's family and their family friends while Diana took the girls' to Laurel's parents. Leslie was off doing whatever it is she does. Meeting Meg was refreshing; she has this way about her that made him smile and she can carry a conversation that isn't about One Direction. Callie can too, but he doesn't see her like that. She's his surrogate little sister. He doesn't understand why Callie despises her.

Callie follows his gaze with a scowl. "Why'd you invite her to come?"

"Because, we wouldn't have been able to get here without her driving us to the station – we don't have cars and our parents would've seen Uber receipts." Or at least his dad would have. Jack's been giving him an allowance of sorts, but Ben understands every transaction made is briefly glanced at. Therefore, an Uber on a Sunday afternoon when he said he would be at the movies…would be hard. "Look, she offered to help us out which is nice." His answer makes Callie huff, he has a point, but this was supposed to be a two-man operation. "What's your problem with Meg? I thought you liked her."

"I did at first." That's true, Callie did. But after hearing her parents and extended family rave about her for the past couple weeks; it gets a little grating to the system. "But, she's too perfect like who the fuck is that perfect? It doesn't make sense."

Ben rolls his eyes. Callie is so frustrating. "I swear you and Jack are the most paranoid people I've ever met." And that's saying something, Ben mistakenly asked his dad for help on the JFK Assassination Paper he had to write for school last week. That got him suckered into a two hour long lecture about it, not to mention the C- he got on the paper and now he has to see the school shrink because she thinks he needs to be put on Ritalin. His gaze flickers back to Meg. "I think she's cute and sweet." He blushes and looks away as Meg glances back at them, an owlish grin dimpling her cheeks. Callie rolls her eyes, this is worse than watching the Hallmark Channel with Isabelle and Grace.

"I think she's a know-it-all bitch." His best friend responded shrugging. The fourteen year old doesn't get why she doesn't like Meg, but she can't bring herself to like someone so perfect.

"Would it kill you to be nice to someone, anyone just this once?" Ben huffed, annoyed.

There's an amused sort of smirk dancing in Callie's eyes. "It might."

"Fuck, I don't even know why you asked me to come." The curly haired teen sighs. He can't understand Callie and why she does the things she does. It's like she enjoys stirring up trouble. Ben half-wishes he had the guts to behave that way, but he can't. His family wouldn't want him if he did. "You don't want me here." That strikes a chord with Callie who turns to him. "You like to go at everything alone because that's just what you do. You work alone." Her eyes are wide in disappointment. "You always have and you always will."

"That's not true. I don't work alone. People leave me. I don't leave them." Callie knows she's being stoic but there is a grain of truth to it, well at one point there was a sliver of honesty there.

"That's a cop-out, C." Ben said. He thought living with the Jareau-LaMontange family helped smarten her up a bit. "Not everyone leaves you, like me, I've never left you…not by choice anyway."

Callie waves him off rolling her eyes. "That's different, we're family." She reads his face. "And you didn't have a choice before, Benny. I don't blame you. I'll never blame you for what happened." In fact, the only person Callie blames is Rick for burning her. Before that all he'd ever done was shout at her, but on that night…Callie subconsciously touches her scarred flesh.

"What are your mom and Will then? They're your family too. I know you care about them. I can tell – and they care about you." Ben knows he's being a jackass and doesn't care. Callie takes off justifying her reasons that no one cares, but Will and JJ do. "But, you leave them. You go off without telling them, but they've never ditched you. So you know what? Most times you go cause you can't deal with it."

"And what can't I deal with?" Callie folds her arms over her chest daring him to answer.

"Caring," his answer is simple and complicated. "You can't deal with caring about people or having them care about you."

"And you you're scared of being yourself!" Callie snapped back. If he can dish it out, he better be able to take it too. "What?" Ben's eyes widen and he blinks. He hates it when Callie is too honest with him. "You know it's true. You don't let anyone see the real you." She studies her contrite friend. "You build yourself into this guy you think people want but you aren't. It's like you're scared, but what do you have to be scared of? You're a good guy, Ben. You don't hafta pretend anymore. Everyone wants you, everyone; your dad, his wife, your aunts…"

The older boy cuts her off quietly. "Leslie doesn't – she doesn't want me. Sometimes she does, but she doesn't want me, me. She wants whatever she'll get for pretending to want me."

"I thought you didn't want her either."

Ben sighs. "I don't, but I'm her son. Shouldn't she want me a little bit?" He cringes realizing he sounds like a little kid for wanting something that pathetic. The boy's eyes are full of worry. "Fuck, I'm sorry about what I said C. It was a cheap shot, a really shitty cheap shot."

"I am trying you know, with JJ and Will. I'm trying to try. I don't mean to fuck things up. I just…I hafta do this. You know I hafta do this. You did this too." Callie's words strike a chord with Ben who nods understanding. He hopes this works out for Callie like it did for him. He's found another family. Of course, it's a little awkward sometimes, but not all bad. Angela and Jack are nice and Michael Vincent is funny.

"I did." He grins softly. "You do realize, that we're gonna be in a shit ton of trouble right?"

Meg appears plopping down beside them and stating. "That's if we get caught and I don't plan on telling mine. Do you plan on telling yours, Callie?"

"Hell no, my mom would get a leash." Callie answered.

"Ben?" Meg asked doing her best to hide a grin at the blonde's words.

"Uh well no, of course not; Angela would kill me." Of the pair, Ben's finding Jack to be easier to contend with than Angela who manages to see right through any bullshit and call him on it. Ben makes a habit of not lying often, but when he has to; she knows. It's a little frustrating. "Guys our parents are cops, your aunt is still connected. Look, what I'm trying to say is, we can't get away with crap."

Meg's eyes become steely. She feels an intense amount of guilt, but the brunette wants Callie to be able to trust her. They were only just starting to be friends and she ruined it somehow. "What makes you so sure we'll get caught? We have to keep our stories straight and when we get there, we stick together. No one leaves each other's side. We have to do this right." Ben turns to a nodding Callie and nods too. "Cool, but just in case; I've got a can of pepper spray and a mini-tazer." That alone causes Meg to redeem herself a little in Callie's eyes, this girl is a bad-ass. "Oh and I'm not sharing my chips."

* * *

Bribing is a key parental tool – in certain extremely sensitive cases – it is a matter of life and chaos.

She and Will are taking Henry and Michael out for ice cream, something they rarely do. The couple believe in giving their kids a well-balanced diet, especially Callie. She isn't by any means overweight, but that doesn't change the fact that they have to give her foods low in fat and cholesterol. Callie is on top of her disease and doesn't like anyone dictating what she can and cannot eat.

Thankfully, Callie made plans to hang out with Ben and Meg today. That isn't to say neither JJ nor Will don't enjoy her company, but they have something important to discuss with Henry. They can't really talk to Mike about anything for two reasons; his face is covered in ice cream and he can't speak yet. Well, he can't but not really. Henry seems to be doing better in keeping his face moderately clean.

"Bubs," JJ regarded after sharing a look with a nodding Will. "We have something to talk with you about today, okay babe?" Henry nods although has his focus is on the cookie-dough ice cream.

"Hey big man, can you put the ice-cream down and listen to mama for a sec? This is real important." Will said, Henry recognizes his dad's not asking tone and complies. "Thank you."

JJ resumes the lead. "How would you feel about us adopting Callie and making her your real sister?"

That's when Henry makes a face; it's a cross between the LaMontange grimace and Jareau scowl. His look causes the parents to swallow nervously. _What could've happened to make him not want Callie anymore?_ Maybe they can fix it. JJ and Will are meeting with their lawyer/her brother, Dan, later this week. Danny and his family are coming up again to see them. This could be a damper on things. They thought Henry loved Callie and from what they saw they believed the feelings are clearly vice-versa. Callie adores Henry. She dotes on him.

"But, she's already my sister." Henry squeaked furrowing his brow. That's what he told his friends at school and Henry William LaMontange is no liar. His mom and dad told him Callie was his sister.

"We know, babe. This would just make it official." His mother responded.

"What do you think about that?" Will dared to ask the question in the back of their minds. Henry pulls an annoyed face causing his dad to begin to ask if the seven year old suddenly harbors feelings of unknown jealousy towards Callie. He's heard about that…sibling rivalries.

But, lucky for him Henry beats him to it by stating seriously. "I think she's already my sister." He returns to his treat shaking his head, Henry swears grownups don't know anything.

* * *

"I don't know how many times I can say, I don't want to talk about it."

The trio steps off the shuttle. Ben's been trying to get Callie to talk to him for about an hour. They went to Robert's an hour ago and promptly left in the middle of his speech. He's apparently a huge donor for this charitable organization that helps women in need. Callie didn't say anything to him. She didn't even try to make a move to either. Ben doesn't get why she took off. But, she did and here they are again, back home and avoiding the fact that Callie wimped out. She's usually the tough one. When everyone else is acting weak or scared or not saying anything; she makes her voice known. But, not today, and Ben is kind of worried about her.

Meg isn't.

"But, Callie." Ben prodded.

"Don't Ben. I said I don't want to talk about it!" Callie snapped buckling her seat-belt and staring ahead refusing to say another word. And that's how the rest of the car ride goes…in silence with Beyoncé and then Oh Wonder begins to play. But, after Meg drops Ben off at his aunts, Callie sighs more frustrated with herself than the car. "I can't believe I chickened out."

"You didn't…chicken out, I mean. He saw you. I think he even recognized you." Meg's voice causes Callie to blink suddenly realizing she said that out loud.

Callie is confused. She saw it too, but wasn't sure if she was just seeing things. "You think?" Meg stops at a red light raising her eyebrows in a duh sort of way. "Yeah, I did too. I just – do you ever wanna do something really bad and when you get there and you realize, why the fuck am I here?"

"Oh yeah, I do."

"I don't even know why I went."

Meg answered simply. "Sure you do, you were curious. How could you not be? Some mysterious rich guy is your dad – look, what I'm trying to say is that I would've done the same thing. If I'd been in your shoes, I would've done the same thing…maybe not crash into a chocolate fountain, but at least you smell good." Callie tries to look upset, annoyed even but the look doesn't last and she soon finds herself chuckling at the brief encounter. Meg snickers. "As far as Saturdays go, this wasn't my worst."

"I wasted your entire fucking day." Callie remarked. "Why did you even go? What? Are you into Ben or something?" She meant to sound like she was teasing, but Meg flushes. The blonde ignores her flustered look and continues. "Honestly though, why did you come?" Her tone is curious.

"I uh, look it's stupid, but we're family…sort of and I wanted – I want us to get along. I want us to be friends cause it'll make for awkward family parties if we're fighting or whatever. Anyway, I'd rather us be a team." The brunette explained causing Callie to look down guiltily; it's her fault their relationship soured.

Callie rubs her neck. "Look, the reason I was a bitch before was cause I was jealous."

"You were jealous of me?" Meg seems stunned. No one's ever been jealous of her before.

"Uh yeah, all our parents talk about is how perfect you are and your great grades and how you never do anything wrong; it gets a little annoying okay? And I'm the one they yell at and don't trust and it sucks being the trouble-maker cousin. I try not to get in trouble, but once you get the title it's sorta hard to wipe the slate clean." The blonde admitted feeling the heat rise in her cheeks. Now that she thinks about it's such a stupid reason not to like someone.

Meg swallows as she pulls into Callie's driveway. "I want to tell you something, but you need to promise to never tell anyone; our parents know, but that's different…just don't tell anyone especially not Ben."

"You like him don't you?" Almost subconsciously Meg blushes rolling her eyes. "I knew it!" The look Meg gives her now causes Callie to look down bashfully. "Right, we're being serious okay, sorry. I'm focusing, uh yeah I promise I won't say dick to anyone."

"So it all started last year…"

* * *

JJ studies her daughter, concerned. Since, Meg dropped Callie off she's been quiet. During dinner she rarely spoke. It was a battle getting her to eat more than half of her meal too. Callie tends to be a picky eater, but nothing compared to tonight's behavior. She seemed distracted. They spent the better part of the evening watching movies and Callie didn't complain once about the movie Henry choose nor did she try to get out of family time together. It was an off night to say the least. She didn't even argue when they politely suggested she head to bed. They have an unspoken rule that she goes to bed at ten and Henry is asleep by eight-thirty.

"What's up with you sweets?" JJ watches as the teen climbs into bed. "You've been quiet all night." The boys have long since gone to bed, so they can have a little more open conversation without worrying Henry might say something a little too…honest.

"I'm just thinking."

Her dad pulls the covers up. "Careful, Trouble, your face could freeze that way."

"Funny," Callie rolls her eyes at the lame dad joke.

"Hey, baby, we need to talk to you about something serious." JJ glances at Will deciding this is as good of a time as any to ask Callie how she feels about this becoming a more permanent placement. A strange grimace floods Callie's eyes making JJ cringe. The last time she looked this guilty was when she egged Mrs. Flannery's house down the street with her friends. She and Will grounded her for a week. "Oh what did you do?" JJ is still getting disapproving glares from her neighbors.

"Nothing, what makes you so sure I did something?" She tries to keep her face as even as possible without letting on that she feels guilty for lying. But, she didn't lie; not technically. She, Ben, and Meg went out and got lunch together. So she has no reason to feel guilty, but for some reason she still does. Ben is trying to reason their behavior to make it okay…but what Meg said is resonating with her. Meg's smart. She's real smart and someone was able to trick her.

JJ is easily able to read Callie this time. "You're defensive and you have on your 'I did something I know I wasn't supposed to' face." The profiler knows she has an unfair advantage because she's looming over Callie while the kid is in bed, but JJ would like to get in front of this…whatever 'this' may be.

"I didn't do anything bad." The blonde teen shifts in her bed deliberately avoiding eye contact.

"Okay this isn't what we came in here to do." JJ said as they sit down on Callie's bed, feeling Will nudge her. Maybe trying to read Callie wasn't a good decision. "Baby, how would you feel about us making this more official? What I'm trying to say is how would you feel about becoming a Jareau-LaMontange?"

"Um I don't think so." Callie answered shaking her head. She looks at them realizing by the looks on their faces that they're disappointed and hurt. _No, fuck I hadn't meant it like that. Why can't I be decent at articulating my words?_ cALLIE sighs. "Shit, I mean, I wanna be your kids. It's uh Mike and Henry aren't Jareau-LaMontange's…they're just LaMontange's and I…you're gonna make me say it aren't you?" Will and JJ raise their eyebrows sharing similar grins. "Okay, fine, I want to be Callie LaMontange."

Will blinks as he holds back a watery smile. "You do?"

"Yeah, I…I mean if you're okay with it. I don't wanna steal your name or anything, but..."

"Hey little darling, it's all yours cause I'd love that." The father feels his chest swell in pride and glances at JJ who nods. "We both would love that." He amended. "We're gonna call your Uncle Danny tomorrow and have him draw up the paperwork. Yah know, Tanya says once we get a court date, it'll be smooth sailing." Will studies Callie, she's trying to hide a yawn. "Okay Trouble, I think its high-time you went to bed. You've got a busy day tomorrow."

"All I've got is school and I don't do anything there."

JJ kisses her head. "Thank you for that." She gently pats the girl's hair, "Night sweets," The mom starts on her way to the door with Will following after he messes up Callie's tangled hair, but pauses. In their excitement and worry about asking Callie, she completely forgot something. "Oh wait, how was your day with Ben and Meg?" They hadn't really gotten much of a chance to talk because Henry adopted a motor-mouth tonight and raved about Finley Herron for most of the night.

"Okay, uh yah know; Meg and me are good now." Callie answered finally allowing herself to yawn.

Will snaps his fingers. "See I told yah once you two sat down and hashed whatever it was out, you'd be best pals." He leaves it at that and flicks off the light causing Callie to chuckle to herself.

"Caroline LaMontange." It does sound weirdly Southern and leaves a sweet taste. Honestly the name itself seems like something you'd call a sweet tea company. Shutting her eyes, Callie relaxes into her bed trying to find a way to fall asleep and in about ten minutes; sleep manages to find her. However, her rest it seems only lasts a moment before she feels someone poking her incessantly. _Fuck, it can't already be seven. That isn't fair._ Callie groaned in typical teenage annoyance. "Ugh, just five more minutes please?" Blearily she sees her little brother looming over her and the sound of thunder clapping. "Henry? What're you doing in my room?" She checks her cell. "Ugh it's one in the morning. Get out of here, dork. I'm trying to sleep."

Henry whispered. "The angels are being too loud."

"What the fuck? What angels? What're you talking about?" Callie questioned crining now Henry's learned some more swears she'll get in trouble when he says, but it's too freaking early for this shit. She has only six measly hours until school and she doesn't want to waste a single minute. "Why're you here?"

"I'm scared."

"Henry," Callie retorted causing Henry to whimper.

A memory bursts into her head eliciting guilt for being mean…she was with the McCall's the family before the Dalton's and she was scared of thunder too. They were nice. Mr. and Mrs. McCall only took temporary cases and usually those cases were troubled teenage girls. Seven year old Callie had been there by mistake; her caseworker was new and arrogant and fudged up the paperwork. But, he was too proud to admit he did, so until Tanya got ahold of her case; she was left there. One of her foster sisters, Nadia, was sixteen and tough as nails. Every time she sauntered down the hall, girls dispersed. Callie thinks the wall shriveled in her presence. But, on a night like this, she went to Nadia's room believing Nadia would scare away the storm. Nadia managed to have a single room, apparently her last roommate aged out and no one had the balls to sleep in the same domain. Callie planned on sleeping on the floor, but Nadia woke up and much to Callie's surprise, she let the seven year old sleep with her…for a few hours.

Of course, Callie vaguely remembers being lugged back to her room in the wee morning hours. They never spoke about it. Nadia didn't bring it up so Callie didn't either. Being the youngest girl there wasn't easy, everyone teased Callie yet at the same time they never let anyone else mess with her. It was sort of like a Married…With Children kind of situation. They could mess with each other, but god help anyone who messed with them; no one could ever come over for a play-date.

Honestly, living there was nice. In the system, Callie has more good memories than bad ones. Actually, the vast majority of the homes she stayed in were okay. The parents weren't mean. The only bad home was with the Dalton's but they're the exception. In her life, Callie's been in two group homes and four foster homes. Since being in the hospital constantly for the first four years, Callie had been in a group home. After, she stayed with the Rhett's for a year, then the Borden's until she was seven, then the McCall's for two more years, the Dalton's was a year thank God, the Bertram's had her for almost four years…Gayle was nice unfortunately she got too old, and lastly she stayed with the Conrad's until they kicked her out six months ago.

The seven year olds lower lip wobbles. "Can I sleep with you?"

"Uh," Callie doesn't want to throw him out. But Henry is a notoriously known for being a kicker. Will says he has 'adventurous dreams' but Callie thinks sleeping with him is a pain. "Why can't you sleep with JJ and Will?"

"I don't wanna go there alone." Henry's logic is purely and most definitely childish. He came to Callie's room on his own and yet he can't go to their parent's room. She's in the downstairs room. JJ's and Will's are closer to his too, _how does that make sense?_ Callie squints. "Will you come with me?" Reluctantly climbing out of bed, Callie takes his hand in her letting him lead her back upstairs. "I coulda went to them from when I first woke up."

Callie stops at their parent's door asking. "Why didn't you?"

"Cause, I'm your brother. Daddy says it's my job to look out for you." And Henry takes his job seriously; Callie resists the urge to roll her eyes at the sexist logic. But, she's finding him amusing. Henry either doesn't notice or care about her frown because he tiptoes into their parent's room demanding. "Mommy, daddy, can we sleep with you?" He's already climbing into their bed. "We're scared."

"Since yah already are…" Will shrugged.

"Honey, I thought we talked about this…the angels are just bowling." JJ feels her son stretch out and rolls her eyes tiredly. "Okay fine, but just for tonight. Tomorrow you're back in your own room." Henry pretends he can't hear her making JJ squint. He boy said 'we' she opens her eyes smirking at the sight of her eldest standing at the foot of their bed. "You too? Well, come on then. Climb on in sweets."

"I uh, I was just walking Henry to here." Callie stumbles a bit with her words. She's never climbed into bed with people like this before. "I-I…what Henry said, I wasn't scared; he was the only one who was. I didn't even know there was thunder till he woke me up."

JJ squints seeing the figure of her kid start to leave. "No, I don't think so. You're sleeping here tonight and that's the end of it. Get your butt over here." The mom ordered in a soft yet firm tone causing Callie to walk back over but stop at JJ's side. "Babe, I'm not above dragging you into this bed."

"I'm not a baby." Callie gives in and climb into their bed. Some battles are just not worth fighting.

"Oh yes you are, you're my baby." JJ puts the covers over them once again and snuggles into the usually distant teen breathing Callie in. She never got to breathe Callie in before, not like she did with Henry when he was a baby or at the moment Michael. "Just shush and go to sleep." Before Callie can say anything more, JJ sighs. "Go to sleep Callie-Bear LaMontange."

* * *

Despite it being nearly two in the morning, Lillian and Robert Perry are going at it and if there was a score card; it'd say Lillian has a strong lead. Her make-up is worn and her eyes are tired, there's a perpetually pissed off grimace settling her features. In a certain light, she appears grotesque which Robert knows is due to having been crying for a few hours and being enraged. Lillian Cohen-Perry is an extremely attractive woman. But, right now she looks pissed. If she were a cartoon character her red hair would be on fire and there'd be steam wheezing out of her ears.

Well, she's putting her Fitbit to use tonight. Lillian finally stops. "Let me get this straight, you've known about this girl for two months and didn't tell me? Do you have any idea what a scandal like this could do to us?" Dry tears stain her cheeks; to hell with the public, this is their marriage and marriage is telling the truth no matter the crap storm. Lillian gets to the point. "How could you not tell me about her?"

"Well, I-I wanted to avoid a scandal and the grief." Robert lied. He doesn't…well he wanted to keep this, having a daughter, to himself. He liked the idea of keeping something private with just him, especially Callie. Once his family hears word of this, they'll try to take over…maybe not his sister Phillipa. But, she and Nana was always been the black sheep's of their family.

"Grief for me or you?" His wife questioned. The Perry's aren't known for being kindhearted people, Lillian would know. She has to spend most holidays with them. "You should have told me sooner."

"I know, I'm sorry," Her husband is rightfully chastened.

Lillian paces. "We have to get in front of this."

"I already told JJ, I don't want anything to do with her." And by the way that kid took off; Robert doubts she wants anything to do with him either. He recognized her the moment he laid eyes on her and she was absolutely beautiful, just like her mother. "I'm sure this was a one-time thing, I mean just because she was in foster care doesn't mean she's looking for money. From what I hear, Callie's very happy."

"Callie's a pretty name. Wait, how was she in foster care?" Concern etches its way onto Lillian's face, she watches Lifetime; she's seen such horrific things about foster care. Although, Robert highly doubts she has a real idea about what it's like and he doesn't know either.

"JJ, ah her mother, didn't know…the doctor told her Callie died the night she was born. Anyway, five months ago a judge gave JJ and her husband custody. Her mother didn't even tell me about Callie before that day. I don't even know why she came." Robert struggles and fails to read his wife's face. He's going to presume she's worried about what this means in regards to their status. "But, you don't need to worry about anything. My name isn't even on her birth certificate." Immediately after JJ and Will left, Robert looked into it…then finding to his dismay and pleasure that there is virtually nothing tying him to Callie. "We probably won't even see her again." There's a trace of dismay and guilt in Robert's tone.

Lillian glances at a framed picture of herself and Robert. They're behind in the polls, the fundraiser was supposed to drum up more supporters which it did but Lillian knows some are hesitant due to this being her husband's second marriage. Virginia is old-fashioned like that. But, they adore a comeback story with resilience, an underdog. Callie could be that story. "Why? Don't you think your daughter deserves the perfect home with us?" This could work out for everyone. Robert would be seen as a hero for taking in an abandoned daughter, the girl would want for nothing and she could be someone's mother – Bash and Teddy already have one. Granted, this girl does too, but temporary is temporary.

Robert's eyes widen and he swallows. "What would the public say?" Image has to mean everything to Lillian, it means a lot to him – he isn't sure he wants to put JJ through this kind of grief.

"We can spin this to make us look like heroes for taking in your abandoned, lost daughter."

"She already has a home with her mother." Robert replied uneasily. As much as he wants to make a home with all his children, he can't. JJ and Vanessa would never let him. He reckons if he ever sees JJ again, she'll be pissed. "Anyway Callie wasn't abandoned. JJ never even knew she existed."

Lillian is contemplative. "Robert, don't you want to give Callie her best chance?"

"Of course I do." He responded swallowing hard. From the way, JJ let on and based on Will's picture, Callie seems happy living with them. On the one hand, Robert doesn't want to mess that up, but on the other; he does want at least one of his kids to be with him. Anyway…he's never had a girl before. Robert recalls all three of his sisters being daddy's girls, especially Phillipa. He and his brother, Drew, had to be independent and strong. It wasn't proper to dote on boys back then.

"Well that's with us, here we can give her everything she'd want." The auburn haired woman declared nodding in a decisive manner. This is going to be good for them. Having Callie would make them look good to the press and maybe it would reignite the possibility of having more kids.

Before Robert can say anything more, Lillian's out of the room contacting their lawyer. The CEO looks to the ceiling wondering, but not daring to admit aloud; _what if she doesn't want them?_


	14. My Wish

Thank you for the awesome reviews! I have a lot of ideas where I plan on taking this story but anything you guys want to add or see feel free to say so. I like hearing all your ideas for this story!

* * *

Chapter 14

* * *

 _JJ waits for Judge Lee Cooper to call them back in. He's currently speaking with Callie about her take on everything that's happened thus far. It's been ten days since they asked Callie, nine days since they received Robert's summons requesting a paternity test, one week since he declared his desire for custody, and after receiving a court date…and here they are. She glances at her former boyfriend and then at his wife. She's pretty, like a young Molly Ringwald but less innocent somehow, a bit more world-wise; JJ isn't sure if that's a good thing or what. She feels Will slip his hand into hers and gains some confidence._

" _What are you hoping to get out of this?"_

" _I just want a chance to get to know her, JJ."_

 _She squares her shoulders, defensive. "You didn't before."_

" _I was caught off guard. I'm not trying to be the bad guy here; in fact, I'm not the–" before Robert can get another word in, the bailiff calls them back into Judge Cooper's chambers. Callie grins as JJ goes over to the girl, carding a comforting hand through her wild curls. Robert watches jealously as Will takes Callie's hand in his own._

 _Judge Lee Cooper gazes at the family somberly before sucking his cheeks in. He has to deliver a verdict; one he may not necessarily agree with…the Bible even says something about threatening to cut an object into two but those who give up the object are the ones who should have it. But, that cannot apply here. Both families clearly want Callie who wants her mom but it would be unwise of Lee to ignore Robert Perry's request. "I didn't arrive at this decision lightly. I understand what you want Callie, but it would be remiss of me to ignore the law." Callie frowns feeling a knot tighten in her chest. "Therefore, I am granting Robert Perry weekly outings with Callie, I trust you can work out the times amongst yourselves." Twin gasps and the single utterance of a whispered 'no' fill the room making Leroy rub his brow. "In a month, we'll reconvene to determine physical and legal custody."_

" _Callie, come on baby…don't," JJ said trying to stop the girl who shrugs off her arm stomping away. Will takes JJ's hand giving it a squeeze. Their adoption pursuit has been halted pending the results of their current case with Robert and Lillian Perry. This is their second meeting with Judge Lee Cooper, but at least Lee doesn't seem to be under Robert's spell like most are. He actually seems ethical._

 _Judge Cooper feels JJ's eyes fall on him and he nods, letting her and Will go. Robert and Lillian share grins and start to file out behind them. "Mr. Perry, Mrs. Perry," Lee addresses the couple who pause. "I trust you seeking custody of Caroline, isn't for political gain, because if it is, then your power won't be able to help you. The Perry and Cohen influence only gets you so far." Lee is a father and grand-father himself. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"_

" _I assure you Judge; this isn't for publicity. The press doesn't even know about Callie, we've decided to wait until the end of this trial." The CEO vowed stonily._

" _Callie has been from home to home her entire life. I understand she's only been with her mother and stepfather for six months, but living there has given her a semblance of normalcy. It's what she's come to know and love. Now, I'm not dissuading you from having a relationship with her. In fact, I think she could benefit from having you in her life, but you seeking primary physical custody could be detrimental to her health especially with you living outside of Virginia." Robert sighs; he just wants to get to know her. "Think about it, Mr. Perry you'd be tearing this child away from everything she knows. Do you have any idea what that'll do to her?"_

 _Robert tries not to react at the man's words. They sting though, so did Callie's reaction – he knew she wasn't going to be pleased, but she just took off. She didn't even look at him._

 _Meanwhile Lillian's gaze hardens. "Judge, Caroline is my husband's child. If you can't stay impartial then we'll find a judge who can." Lee leans back in his chair knowing a thinly veiled threat when he hears one. "Have a good day Judge." With that she and Robert leave. As they walk down the corridor, Lillian huffs. "I can't believe the guile of that man, lecturing us, like he's better." Her husband nods, distracted. "Robert? Robert, you look upset. We'll have Caroline home soon." Lillian hums to herself. "Although, I do think Cooper has some sort of grudge against us – that won't do. We're going to have to call Marvin about this."_

* * *

One Week Later

Maybe if she stays in her room long enough, she won't have to go.

"Callie, honey, remember what Judge Cooper said?" JJ sits down beside the teen stroking her hair. "You're uh," she can't seem to say 'father' because well he isn't. Robert Perry is just a powerful guy who strong-armed his way into their life. "Robert's going to be here any minute. You have to get up sweets." If they cut into any of his time with Callie then it'll look like they're trying to turn her against him. "Come on; where's your jacket? How can you find anything in here? It's like a bomb went off." JJ shakes her head looking around at the chaotic bedroom.

"I can only find stuff when it's messy."

JJ rolls her eyes. "Of course you can, c'mon babe up we go." She pulls the kid into sitting position appraising her; she must've gotten up early this morning, put some clothes on, and then fallen back asleep. Because, JJ knows that when they said goodnight to Callie, she was sporting a tee shirt rather than a Georgetown long sleeve and jeans she has on right now. "Oh good, you're all dressed – Callie, shake a leg. He's going to be here any minute."

"No, I don't want to go. Please, don't make me." Callie pleaded. Her mother blinks painfully and steels herself as she gently guides the girl out of bed. At least her kid put her clothes on before crawling back into bed. Feeling guilty, Callie makes a disheartened face and leans against the headboard. "I want to stay with you."

JJ bites her lip. "What're you talking about?" She sits down on the bed, honestly worried. Well she's feeling a blend of worry and guilt churning in her gut. "You and Robert are hanging out today. You aren't going anywhere." Shit. JJ knows she shouldn't have said that, but in this moment; Callie looks so little and lost.

"You don't know that. He wants real custody of me. That's why I can't be yours." Callie takes the offered shoes.

The way Callie said that doesn't sit well with JJ. "Listen to me, Will and I don't need a piece of paper to tell us you're ours because you are. It would've been nice, but we know in here," she pats her chest. "You're ours, no matter what." She pauses to study the teen's wide eyes. "Do you understand?" Callie nods, she still doesn't want to go. "You two are just getting to know each other." In a month's time, custody is going to be decided and since Robert's domicile is in Pennsylvania…JJ sighs. He has a few branches in Virginia, but his home and HQ are in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. And that isn't even close to where her family lives.

"I don't care." She declared. "I don't want to go."

"I know you don't, but you have to." The mom ordered, if she doesn't get Callie to perk up then Robert might use it against her. But, she can't make Callie like someone, especially when JJ doesn't even like him. Things are pretty tense and JJ's vented to Will more than once about Robert. "Ben likes hanging out with his dad."

Callie squints looking to JJ's amazement, a bit like Rosaline. "That's cause he has a say and Robert's not my dad, not really." She has the Jareau glare down. "Will's my dad, Robert's just some jerk."

"Don't talk like that." JJ reprimanded firmly causing Callie's cheeks to flush. But, the thing is, if Callie's mean to Robert then he could say she and Will coached her. "Sweets, you have to be nice to Robert. You…just be nice to him, for me please." Callie sighs as the doorbell rings; JJ presses her lips against the girl's forehead. "Go, get your shoes on and wait in the living room. I need to talk to Robert before you go." After she turns, tears glaze in JJ's eyes but she holds them in – her crying would only scare Callie.

Callie somehow manages to sneak into the living room without Robert seeing her. Her mom and Will led him into the kitchen to talk some. Callie pulls on the laces tying her left sneaker. _If I force myself even deeper into the couch cushion maybe Robert will think I've moved out._ It's a childish thought on her end, but one that crosses Callie's mind nonetheless. Thankfully Uncle Danny pulled strings and Callie doesn't have to deal with Robert's wife. Callie saw how she was looking at Will, like she's better. Uncle Danny and Robert's lawyers made a deal that Callie has to meet Lillian either on the second or third visit – which is better than meeting her out the gate.

"I just wanted to tell you that Callie's a vegetarian so don't take her Outback or Arby's." JJ rattles off some more facts about her daughter. This way there won't be any confrontation at lunch. Her eating habits are better, but Callie can be annoyingly picky sometimes too. "She took her vitamins and heart pills this morning–"

Robert clears his throat. "Oh yeah about that, I can start covering payments for her heart medication. I know it must be a financial strain on you guys – with having government jobs." He flashes the infamous Perry grin, something JJ used to find sexy but now grates her nerves. She's suddenly grateful Callie never inherited that unnerving trait. "Or maybe I could pay for her schooling this semester; I uh mean that we don't know if she'll be going to Fortitude Grace next September, but still."

"We do just fine, thank you." Will is the first to answer thank God or else JJ would've lunged at him. "And ah why don't we just wait and see, play it by ear?" He said trying to stay diplomatic.

"Well, if you guys ever do need a loan just ask – I want to contribute in Caroline's life." The CEO responded feeling like his twenty three year old self would kick the shit out of him. But, he wants to be there. "I've set up a college fund for her, I'm sure you guys have one too…but I just want to help." His boys have theirs and Robert is already making adjustments to his Will and Testament to include Callie.

JJ nods. "We don't need your money, Robert." She forces a kinder tone. "Look, our lawyers can go over a joint account for Callie's college. The plan we have, well there's no way the money can be taken out for anything but her school." The profiler answered as a thought hits her. "I don't want there to be any paparazzi when you go out with Callie today. My daughter is not going to be your frontline news, if I hear there was–" JJ is cut off.

"There won't be. None of my children are ever subject to the press unless they chose to be." Robert sounds hurt with JJ's automatic assumption. Lillian is the one who wants this to be headline news whereas he just wants a relationship with his kid. "My people will make sure we aren't bothered." His first wife, Vanessa Kyle, absolutely hates it when Bash and Teddy are in the papers without her permission…but he does his best to keep them out of the spotlight. But, if they do have a family press event; he informs Vanessa beforehand.

Will asked. "Thank you, can yah have her home by three? She needs ta go to a friend's house for a project."

"Why's he involved?" Robert questioned huffily. If Lillian can't be part of matters about Callie, then why does JJ's spouse get to be? Callie frowns having half a mind to go in there and tell Robert off, but holds back. "He's nothing to Caroline." The teenager clenches her fists, standing up until she hears.

"She likes Callie and I'm her family." The Louisiana-born keeps his voice even solely because he doesn't want to frighten the kids he knows are listening, but it's plain as day Will is holding back. He thought they were going to be a family. Hell, Will knows in his heart they'll always be a family, but this would've made things official.

Robert's voice echoes. "You aren't her real family."

"That's enough!" JJ roared. She won't let anyone speak to her husband like that. For the last six months, he's been a really amazing father to Callie and she isn't going to let Robert ruin that. "Will has custody of Callie too; so he has the right to be part of decisions made regarding her life. He's also my husband and Callie's stepfather." The blonde woman has an urge to say he's Callie's father, but stops herself.

"Lillian's her stepmother and she wasn't allowed to be here! She's just as much her parent as he is."

That's when Callie zones out. She doesn't want to hear anymore. There's no way this Lillian bitch is anywhere near her parent. The girl shifts on the couch trying to keep from taking off. Because, at the moment, she's itching to run; it's chicken pocks kind of itchy. She can make out Will playing referee as JJ rips into Robert. This is new. No one has ever fought for her, now it seems like she's a new toy everyone wants to play with except JJ and Will are where she belongs. Robert and Lillian are the bratty neighbors who want to show her off to their friends.

To think just two weeks prior everything was gravy. Callie thought she was finally going to get all she wanted; the teen cringes realizing how stupid that was. Closing her eyes, Callie tries to hold the angry tears back. _How can this be happening?_ He didn't want her before. Suddenly, she feels someone slip their hand into hers. She opens her eyes to see Henry beside her. He looks at her softly, in a solidarity kind of way.

"Why're you sad? Did someone make you sad?" Henry asked feeling a sense of fury build in his chest. He takes his job as Callie's protector very seriously; daddy says brothers take care of their sisters. And Henry plans on doing just that; if Fin's brother was mean to her…then Henry LaMontange will throw water balloons at him. He's seen Sean in Callie's room a few times. Henry guesses Callie's friends like her window is better than the front door. Callie gave him ten bucks not to tell mommy or daddy. But, wait, Sean's nice. He can pull funny faces.

"N-No, I'm fine."

"Mommy says you get a time-out if you lie." Henry puts on his stern face. "Who made you sad?" No one can ever make his sister sad or else they'll have him to deal with, he turns vaguely hearing his mom talk in her not-so-quiet angry voice. She's in the kitchen with daddy and some guy who came over for reasons he doesn't get. "No one can make you sad. I hafta protect you; it's my job."

"I think it's my job to protect you. I'm older." Callie chuckled sadly. She sees Henry squint in confusion and decides to change her tactics. Right now, the teenager wishes Will and JJ adopted her sooner so they wouldn't be in this mess. "How about we protect each other, okay? We'll be a team; Callie and Henry, against the world."

"When he's bigger, can Mikey be on the team?" The shorter blonde asked, forever thoughtful.

Callie agreed. "Hell yeah," she grins at him softly. "How about right now he's our mascot?" The little brother raises his eyebrows as though considering this. In this moment, he looks exactly like Will right now and when a nodding grin breaks onto his face, he looks even more so like his daddy. Callie ruffles his hair. She wishes he hadn't got it cut to look hipster little kid. "I need your help with something and it's really, hugely vital to our operation."

"What is it?!" Henry's practically bouncing up and down in excitement.

"While I'm out, I need you to think of our team name _and_ what mascot Mikey should be." Callie sighs; this'll be less confusing for Henry if he doesn't see her go. JJ and Will plan on explaining it all to him once she and Robert are gone. For now, it'll be easier on Henry if he's not around. He thinks Robert is just a guy; actually, Callie isn't sure what he thinks about Robert. He has yet to ask about who he is, but Henry being Henry and he'll likely demand to know who the guy is moments after he leaves.

The boy's eyes widen. "Okay! I can do that." He replied scampering upstairs to sift through his animals' book. Oh and he needs poster paper to write their team name down, plus colored markers and glue and glitter.

Callie watches him go. This is all so fucked up. She feels the guilt resonate in her. If she hadn't gone to see Robert then none of this would've happened. But, if she tells JJ or Will about it – then they might not want her. For some reason, neither Robert nor Lillian has brought up her surprise visit. However, Callie has a feeling it's only a matter of time before they do…and JJ and Will are going to hate her. They will. They're gonna think she doesn't want them, but she does. Callie's never wanted anyone more than them.

"…you ready to go?" His voice brings Callie out of her thoughts and she huffs.

"That depends? You done fighting with my mom?"

* * *

Per their agreement, Alex has reluctantly agreed that instead of telling his father he poured milk on a federal agent he'll do some odd jobs around Mr. Rossi's place. From the way he speaks, Alex had thought the guy's place would be bigger. He rubs the back of his neck as a tall woman strides out of the house.

"Oh good, you brought reinforcements." Tara smiles as Garcia flounces out behind her.

"I definitely did, I have a strong worker here." David replied clapping Alex on the back causing the boy to have a slight micro-expression of pain. If they were anyone else, they wouldn't have seen it…but they aren't anyone else; the profilers and techie squint at Alex. "You all right there son?"

Alex nods. "Yes sir, I'm fine."

"If you say so, Cucciolo." Rossi pulls a face as though trying to read Alex whose eyes are downward.

"What does – what does that mean?" Alex asked frowning to himself before looking up and finding the spot in front of him vacant. He nods. "And he's gone," the boy runs a hand through his hair and glances at the tall African American lady. She's watching him with serious eyes. Like, she knows more than she lets on; it's a trait Alex knows Callie's parents have and even Callie herself seems to possess. "So what work can I do for you ma'am?"

"Oh he's so cute and polite." Garcia takes Alex's face giving his cheeks a squeeze. The boy's face turns pink and he glances desperately at the other woman for help. "Hmm…" Penelope tries to think of a possible nickname to give this clearly bemused young man. "Oh I've got it. I'll call you pumpkin, cause your cheeks are so squishy."

"Ah," Alex isn't quite sure how to respond to that. No one has ever given him a nickname like that. The only person who did was his mom. He was her 'Sweet Fella' and Soph was called 'Frog' on account of her being such a squirmy, fussy baby. "I…my name's Alex Karvelle, ma'am."

Penelope releases his face. "I know an Alex! See this is perfect, when she's around and you're here too; we'll know how to tell the difference between the two of you." The techie claps gleefully as she walks back into the house leaving a bewildered Alex in her wake.

"B-But, I'm a dude. Wouldn't that be difference enough?" The boy questioned softly.

"Seeing as to how no one else will, I'll call you Alex." Tara offered as the boy rubs the back of his neck. He looks a little overwhelmed. The psychologist studies him through her lens curiously. "You remember meeting us before, right?" Alex nods, he does indeed. But, that still doesn't make them any less weird. "So, since you're working for me today, you're going to be painting the quest room. Fair warning, it'll take you longer than a day to do it." Tara rubs her brow as she steers the boy up the porch steps feeling the need to ask. "What did you do that you're now Rossi's unofficial servant?"

Alex appears rightfully insulted. "I'm not his servant. I'm only working for him until I've got enough saved to pay for his dry cleaning bill." Not to mention the fact that this gives him the chance to get out of the house while Sophia's at ballet and Nicky and Jacob are at daycare.

He saunters inside allowing the torch of confusion has now passed on to Tara.

* * *

"I swear if that guy makes her so much as sigh, he'll have me to deal with."

"And me too." Reid added as Morgan glances at the skinny man with a cocked eyebrow. "I've taken down unsubs all the time, Morgan. I can handle my own against an insurance salesman. Anyway, based on Robert's BMI he falls within the range of healthy but he does have a history of heart issues in his family. Therefore, his heart could go into shock during our fight and I would win by default."

Derek closes his menu. "Yeah, that's what we're going for here." He commented watching as Callie fidgets for the millionth time in her seat. She doesn't look comfortable. However, the profiler flashes their waiter a curt grin as the nineteen year old takes his order. He's having a burger, something with protein.

"I think I'll tell JJ to have Callie tested for attention-deficit disorder." Spencer nods already making mental notes to look up more about the condition. "Either that or she's nervous…wait, based on her facial expressions; yes, Callie is distressed. You know, based on her past; I'm surprised she hasn't made an attempt to bolt."

"Don't count her out just yet." Morgan answered and then an idea hits him. "Bet you our bill, Callie will be climbing out the window before lunch."

Spencer questioned. "Her lunch or ours?"

"Hers," the man is smirking as his genius friend reaches over shaking his hand.

Callie folds a piece of her napkin. This is feeling really incredibly awkward. Robert is uncomfortably attempting to make small talk, but she's sort of zoning out. All of her thoughts are on, for once, the future. Everything's falling apart at the seams. It isn't fair. _Why can't my life just be okay?_ She plays with a loose blonde curl before feeling Robert's eyes fall on her, expectantly. _Shit. Did he just ask me something?_? Callie swallows half-wishing her surrogate uncles' were closer so they could mouth out what he just said.

"I uh I like pie." Callie doesn't know where that came from, but there it is.

Much to her surprise, Robert laughs. "Yeah me too, but I was asking what your favorite subject was in school? Is it Math?"

"Oh, I don't like Math." The blonde teenager answered with a smile tug on her cheeks. She still doesn't like him, but at least he's not a total ass. Well, he isn't a dick about some things. Robert glances at her with warm gray-green eyes. He looks interested in her answer. Callie licks her lips. "I like art best…it's really cool; you make this thing that's all yours and no one can take it from you." A strange grimace dances across his eyes. "Did you mean like school-school? Then I like History best, I'm part of this group where we do projects throughout the year; it isn't as dumb as it sounds. It's cool cause they're my friends now and we're gonna be together until senior year." Her gaze suddenly fall to the empty appetizer plate as Callie realizes she might not be here for senior year.

"Uh," Robert seems to sense her unease. This is going awfully. He takes a sip of water before responding. "How do you like your burger?" Lillian doesn't usually let him have red meat like this. She also tries to cut the foods he eats high in cholesterol down to basically fish and grilled chicken. But, since she's not around, he's having a burger.

"It's good, but Conor's always makes the best food." There's a glint dancing in Callie's eyes, partially because she worded this at the exact right time and partially due to her honestly meaning every word. The food here is good and when Sean's working, he likes to make her interesting meatless foods.

"I think for that you earned yourself a free slice of pie." Annie Davis commented tickling the girl's side with an easy-going grin. Annie is the divorced matriarch of the Herron family that is, much to Sean's chagrin, mostly composed women. She's a fiercely independent, strong-willed businesswoman for someone who hadn't any prior experience until opening Conor's. "How're you doing today, Callie?"

Callie's answer is respectful. "Fine, ma'am…" she peers around. "Sean's not working today?" Usually, Sean works whenever he can. Because, he's relatively handsome he makes good money in tips. He refuses to accept wages. Anyway, over the past few weeks, she and Sean have become very good friends. They have on occasion kissed, but that's it; more often than not the pair talks about things neither feel comfortable speaking about with their friend groups.

"Sweetheart, for the hundredth time; call me Annie." The owner chided heartily. "No not today, Seanie's visiting Kendra at UVA. He'll be upset he missed you." In all seriousness, Annie hopes Sean has a good time. Since her other son's passing, Sean's been the only male and brothers…have such a strong bond. But, Kendra and Sean have each other to lean on. Maeve and Fin were a little too young to understand what was going on. Annie's eyes fall on the guest sitting across from Callie. "Oh I'm sorry, I didn't even say hi to your friend. I'm Annie Davis."

"I'm Robert Perry," the man shakes Annie's hand politely. To Callie's relief, he doesn't mention anything about the custody or being her biological father.

"It's nice to meet you, Robert." The woman with graying black hair nods kindly. She then ruffles Callie's messy blonde curls. Her only daughter with curls is Finny and that girl is way too much of a tomboy to ever consider dressing up. "Well enjoy and tell Elena to give you each a free slice of pie. I'll see you later, Miss. Callie."

Robert responded. "You must go here a lot since your friend's mom owns it."

"Only sometimes; I'm gonna be working here this summer, I think. My buddies Alex and Isabelle want to work here too, but Belle…isn't the working type." Callie answered giggling. Robert grins, she laughs like JJ. He can't get over how much she looks like her mother; it's uncanny. Her curls are all Perry, especially Nana Perry who damn near had an afro.

"So you have a lot of friends at your school?" The man asked as Callie nods looking down. An awkward silence lurks resulting in the teenager to begin playing with her food. Robert glances down at his meaty burger. "Uh you aren't upset that I'm eating this are you?" He's gone out to dinner with snobby vegetarians before who have torn him apart for ordering salmon, a lesser of the meats.

Callie squints. "No, that'd be dumb. You can eat it all you want, but I don't. Mom and Will give me protein pills to make up for it and I love tofu." She glances at the half-eaten garden burger and grins at the sight of pecan pie being slide in her direction. Robert's having apple, at least he didn't choose cranberry. "I lived on a farm and…I quit eating meat after that." He nods, not quite sure what that means. "So, what do you do?" Whenever JJ isn't around, Callie refers to her as mom; the thing that gets to everyone is when she is…she doesn't. It's almost like Callie's afraid to. "Mom tried explaining it to me and I've looked you up, but I don't get it."

Robert is stunned and dismayed; he doesn't like hearing Caroline call him by his first name. But, they don't know each other. It would seem weird if he pushed the dad-title from the fences. "That's my advisor Nico's fault; he likes to complicate our website to make us seem better than our competition. My company manages insurances of people or businesses deciding which works best."

"So you tell people how to live?"

"In a way, yes, but we – Perry Insurance – provides insurance as well. More often than not, our customers come to us wanting to buy into one of our plans." Robert explained causing a silence to lurk only for him to end up adding. "And your stepmother Lillian is part of Cohen Group where she buys small businesses revamping them to sell them again." Callie nods politely, sipping on her water. "But, I guess we seem kind of boring compared to your mom and Will who chase bad guys all day." There's mild resentment in his tone, JJ's doing exactly what she wants to in life…and he isn't. He doesn't hate working at Perry Insurance; it just isn't what he thought he'd be doing.

Something flickers across Callie's eyes so quickly that Robert misses it. "She and Will do a lot of paperwork too, but they only tell me that. They say their work isn't for my ears, but what you do is nice too; if that's what you like."

"What do you like?" Robert asked.

"I like hanging out with my friends and family." Almost instantly after the words escape Callie's mouth, she feels like a complete dope for saying them. And Robert looks offended somehow. Like, she said the wrong thing; Callie inwardly cringes. She ought to write out a script of what to say when she's around him. "I like my art class too."

Her father swallows thickly. "What do you like about it?" His gaze is half on Callie and half on their bill.

"My teacher, Ms. Ryder, is really cool. She writes a word on the board and we have to draw a picture based on what we think the word means. I'm still working on my Compassion piece." The rest of the class has begun doing Honesty and since Callie is taking a while longer, she may need to stay after school sometime this coming week to finish it. Then there's their project on quotes that is due Monday. They have a poster with all their quotes on it along with their feelings about them, and they also had to interview several people about it too.

"Maybe when you finish it, I'll get to see it." The teenager shrugs, however, she doesn't show JJ or Will her work so the chances of Robert seeing them are even slimmer. Callie's private about that. She prefers keeping her pieces and photographs to herself, sometimes she shows Henry, but that's rare. Robert leads her outside and back to the car asking. "Have you ever been to an art museum before?" Callie shakes her head unsurely. "Maybe when you meet Lillian next week; we can all go to one together like a family." Robert knows this is of interest to Callie and adds. "I could even try to get your brothers' to come too."

The blonde buckles her seat-belt and questions. "But, Henry and Michael aren't your kids."

"No, I mean my sons, your other brothers; Sebastian and Edward." The CEO rubs his neck as he puts the car in Reverse . "We uh call them Bash and Teddy, though. Bash is ten and Teddy's eight."

"Oh yeah, I heard I had half-brothers." Callie responded without thinking. She's grown to consider Henry and Mike her actual brothers whereas Robert's children seem distant, like far away cousins.

Robert frowns, offended. "Callie…" he's sighing, aggravated. He and JJ are going to talk about the way Callie views her family members because this is bull. "Henry and Michael are your half-brothers just like Bash and Teddy." The young girl seems too find her plate interesting. "So what do you think? It'd be a real family day."

Callie tapes her fingers against the white box perched in her lap. "Yeah, sure that's fine." The teen lied with a swallow; she suddenly has an acidic taste in her mouth. Today wasn't bad. But, at the same time it wasn't what she wanted to do today either. It felt forced. Worse than when JJ encouraged her to move in, every interaction felt fake…whereas with JJ she tried but not like this; she was real from the beginning. And maybe Callie wasn't trying hard enough, but this isn't something she wants. She has no choice in this; fucking stupid laws. Her eyes light up as Robert pulls into their driveway. "Uh, I guess I'll see you later Robert."

"See you next week, Callie." Robert responded half-wondering if she's going to hug him goodbye like the boys do, but instead Callie nearly breaks the door as she bolts out of the car. Sighing, the CEO waits until his daughter is inside before pulling out and driving off. This wasn't necessarily the worst meeting he went to.

Callie wanders into the kitchen where JJ is feeding Michael his afternoon snack of cut up pineapples in a bowl. This happens to be the newest fruit he's into. Last week, he loved avocados. Callie has a strong feeling Mikey will grow up to be a hipster. Michael glances over at Callie, similar to a king acknowledging one of his subjects. Callie chuckles as she kisses her baby brother's head. JJ continues to feed Michael as she asks her daughter. "Hey sweets, how was lunch with Robert?" JJ hopes Callie had a good time.

"Okay, I guess. He wants to take me to an art museum next week." Callie shrugged rolling her eyes.

"Oh that sounds like fun." The stepfather said trying to sound enthusiastic, but Callie can tell he's putting too much effort in his excitement. He nudges his wife. "Don't it Cher?" Will gives her a knowing look. They have to be encouraging about this, even though it's killing him; it's what they gotta do.

JJ nods forcefully. "Yeah, you'll have a great time babe."

The teenager blinks glancing up at her mother in shock. She looks downright distraught. Will watches her with his arms folded across his chest as though trying to hold back his guilt. Hell, both parents feel guilty. But, what they don't know is that they aren't the only one. "I hafta go out with him again?" She asked doing her best to keep from letting the tears trickle down her cheeks. She thought, or rather, hoped this was a one-time thing.

After sharing a look with a reluctant JJ, Will answers for them. "Yeah, Trouble yah do."

"This sucks, why don't I get a say?" Callie reacts more out of anger than anything else and storms out of the kitchen, keeping her eyes firmly focused on the ground.

"Callie," the profiler called as she begins to go after her. After Callie left when she heard Judge Conrad's verdict, she ended up crying on their shoulders. The only thing that could get her to stop was ice-cream; Callie's actually a lot like Henry in the fact that once she starts crying she can't seem to stop until either being tickled or treats.

"Give her some time, Cher." Will stops his wife. He can gauge that Callie is likely to become angry at them by default if they try to talk to her. On the one hand, Callie lashing out at them is good because she feels comfortable enough to do so. But on the other hand, she gets a little too sassy for her own britches when she acts up. The way he sees it, Callie needs to come to them. She's got to start coming to them more anyway. This is good. He hopes. Honestly, Will is just trying to stay hopeful. "This ain't easy for any of us." Honestly, the Southerner is doing his best to conceal the pain burning in his chest. He would've loved having a little girl – hell Callie is his girl – no matter what, but it being official would've been nice.

"I know…I just hate to see our girl in pain." JJ said as her phone buzzes. She checks it and pulls a disappointed face at Garcia's message. "Oh crap, I have a case." Her husband looks crestfallen. Now he has to deal with a pissed off teenager and two rowdy little boys. "I'll say goodbye to the boys and tell Callie goodbye when I'm driving her to Belle's for her project." The blonde woman reads her husband. "Will, I'm sorry, but this is my job."

Will replied. "I know it is, Cher, but are yah sure this is the best time for you to be leavin?"

JJ sighs, she wants to be here but it wouldn't be fair. "I can't miss any more work, Will. Hotch is already giving me the court days off." Will sucks in his cheeks as his head bobs up and down. He wishes everything could've just worked out the way it was supposed to.


	15. Sweet Dreams

Thanks for the awesome reviews! I know this last chapter was very OC-centric. So I'm refocusing it on our favorite family! Everything's going to come into focus soon. This takes place after the Hostage episode. This chapter might be short, but it's definitely sweet too!

* * *

Chapter 15

* * *

"Callie's the same age Sheila is…was."

"What?" Tara's ears perk up and she glances at the others. "JJ, you can't do that."

"I know. I just…it's hard not to see – when you have kids it's hard not to see them in victims." JJ leans feeling goose bumps shiver down her spine. "Sheila was the same age, but Gina reminded me so much of Callie. If something had happened to her…I mean before we only just met her – so I would've had no way of knowing. It feels like I've known her forever, but I haven't. I know she wasn't abused in that way, but from what she's told me and it hasn't been much; she was hurt in one of her homes once." _And it breaks my heart._

Reid raises his eyebrows, concerned. "Have you considered putting her in therapy?"

"Callie attends sessions with Tanya every other week and despite everything that's going on with Robert; I'm told she's thriving." Actually, Tanya's told them that Callie is opening up more so than she ever has. There has even been talk about Callie gradually ending said sessions. However, that is, if her progress continues; they're going to reassess this in a few months. "In a way, I guess she is…Callie seems fine. I just hate seeing my kids in victims."

"It's hard." Hotch agreed tightly. His thoughts drift to Jack. He couldn't imagine what his life would be like without Jack part of it. Honestly, his son is the best thing that ever happened to him. "But, it makes going home to them even better because you know you're making the world a safer place."

Rossi murmured. "After a case like this, I visit Joy and…and cherish the time I spend with them."

* * *

Aviva taps her pencil against the book. Her gaze is on Callie. "You seem perturbed." She's currently working on a new solo project about an influential person in history and how their legacy has extended to now. Her paper is going to be on Mary Wollstonecraft. Her friends raise their eyebrows at the obscure word choice. "It's never too early for SAT vocab prep."

"It is when we're freshman, Aves." Callie snickered as Alex snorts in agreement as Wyatt pulls a face; his parents signed him up for SAT prep. But, a part of him wishes he could escape the world around him and just be with Zac without fear of being labeled. There's so much worry, Zac's lucky his parents are cool. The blonde frowns at the strange look on Wyatt's face; he's the quietest vocally, but has the loudest face. Callie doesn't push it. She has her own troubles; she went home from school today for lunch and heard her mom crying about a case. It was hard to hear. The teenager ended up tip-toeing out of the house and jogging back to school. "I'll be back; I need to find a book." Walking over to the bookshelf, Callie begins sifting through the section in search of anything about Katherine Johnson. Her eyes nearly pop out of her skull at the sight of Sean tiptoeing over to her. "This is a surprise. I didn't think you knew were the library was."

"Someone's funny today." Sean remarked with a grin. He swaggers over to Callie. "I think you forget Grasshopper that I've been at this school a whole year longer than you." In return the girl rolls her eyes causing Sean to pull his friend close so their lips are almost touching. "What would you say to going on sort of date with me?"

An amused grin dances its way onto Callie's face. "You're joking."

"I don't joke about sort of dates, Calamanca." Sean deadpanned feigning seriousness.

"What would we be doing on this sort of date?" Callie questioned with raised eyebrows. She has a strange feeling her parents aren't going to technically like this and that she maybe should consider consulting them. But, if they refuse to let her go, it'll be embarrassing. Callie's sort of ensured no one, save Henry, knows about Sean or that they're kind of together. Everything has been complicated enough; Callie figures the least she could do was ease some of the pressure back home – and also, she doesn't want them to get all overprotective.

"It's a surprise." The raven haired teenager answered, Sean Herron loves surprises. He especially enjoys shocking other people; it's fun to see their reactions. "I'll pick you up. I just finished fixing up my buddy Enzo's old bike."

Callie can't resist teasing her…guy friend. "You're picking me up on your bicycle? How old are we again?" At family dinner this past Sunday, Jack was boasting about doing a similar thing with some girl he likes.

"My motor-bike, Callie…my Uncle Greg and I put it together so it's totally safe." Sean explained honestly. After his dad left and Conor died, his mom set up these manly excursions with her brother and his Uncle Greg. They've worked on this bike for a few months now. Sean is in the process of receiving his motorcycle license, but the bike in general is more of a motorbike than a cycle. He smirks at the blonde. "See you at seven on Saturday, Cal." With that, he leans in to kiss Callie who quickly sneaks a glance around the library before letting the boy kiss her. This behavior doesn't go unnoticed by Sean; however, he reluctantly decides not to bring it up.

Callie comes at the tail end of Aviva's huffed words. "…well I don't see the point in them."

"School spirit," Grace supplied.

"Team building," Mason shoves a book into his backpack.

"Fun," Wyatt has an uncomfortable feeling he knows where this is going. Aviva is messing around and Belle is in a shit mood because of her dads. It seems the girls he knows are more confusing than the guys he knows, shit he's happy to be gay. Because, girls are crazy, with Zac things are much more straight-forward.

After watching them bicker, Callie decides to ask the question nagging at her. "What's going on?" She should have known better than to attempt to understand what the hell they're talking about. Honestly, sometimes, Callie wonders how the hell they all became friends in the first place. They're so different.

"Aviva's mad because Grace and Mason are busy with their lives." Isabelle chortled.

"Don't act like you didn't want to go, Isabelle." Aviva has some bite in her answer, like she's offended; in reality she's growing increasingly fed up with Belle's bitchy attitude. She understands things aren't all sunshine and rainbows, but that doesn't give Isabelle the right to take it out on them.

"I didn't." The white-blonde haired girl crosses her arms squinting. "I'm on the cheer-leading team, Aviva. I have to get ready for the competition."

Aviva plays dumb. "We have one of those?"

"Yes, we're going to sectionals this year. I expect you all to be there with posters." Isabelle can feel the burning anger starting to envelop in her chest, only she's redirecting said pissed off emotions to someone she feels safe with and that someone is Aviva Goldberg.

"No I mean a cheering team – when did that happen?" The brunette questioned as she forces innocence to invade her eyes while Callie leans back, taking it all in.

Wyatt groaned. "We've had cheering here since 1967."

"We have?" Aviva's eyes are dancing in amusement. She gets a pleasure out of pissing people off, more often than not; she enjoys bugging Alex and Grace or trying to get a rise out of Wyatt which is near impossible.

Isabelle snapped without really thinking. "Ugh, why do you always have to be such a bitch? It's like you like pissing people who care about you off so they'll leave you alone. Did you ever think that someday maybe they will?" She gets up from the table feeling a bit wobbly. Everything at home is becoming too much and being with her friends is supposed to feel safe, but Aviva's…she can be too much sometimes. "Callie, talk to her, because I can't." The white haired blonde turns to Aviva's true confidant and walks away.

"Thanks for that, Aves." Wyatt pinches the bridge of his nose.

"What? She's being over-dramatic." Aviva answered.

"She's right about you being a bitch." Alex responded glaring evenly at the brunette. He gets that feelings are hard for Aves, but she doesn't have to be so mean all the time. Belle's going through some hard shit. The least they can do is be supportive. "Are you on your period or something?" The silence that erupts causes Alex to inwardly cringe realizing saying that wasn't the best idea.

Aviva's eyes turn icy. This causes Callie and she highly suspects everyone else to hold their breaths in fear of what the brunette is going to say next. "That's such a chauvinistic thing to say. I'm sick of guys saying that, what would you think if I said your dick was probably half your shoe size?" Wyatt swallows as Alex and Mason pull faces at the thought of any girl saying that to them. "Not great right? Yeah, that's how we feel when you assume we're PMSing because we're expressing annoyed, completely fucking normal emotions." Meanwhile Grace smirked, wanting to applaud but presuming now is not the best time.

Callie waits until the guys have left with their tails between their legs before addressing Aviva. Grace seems to get the message that Callie needs to talk to Aviva alone and follows after Mason. Callie smiles gratefully at Grace who nods letting the girl know it's all good. The girl turns to her best friend. "Ooh you went all female empowered on him, I like it." The blonde snickered and then frowns. Viva looks more upset than pleased; there's something wrong. Usually, when she rants, Aviva looks proud; not upset. "What's got you so pissed off?"

"Something has to piss me off for me to tell the truth?" Aviva asked.

"There's a lot of ways you can tell the truth without it sounding like you want to hurt someone."

The brunette shrugged. "I'll work on that."

"Sure, maybe apologize to Belle too." Callie said in a soft voice making Aviva's mouth drop in shock. She thought out of everyone, Callie would be on her side. Or at least, defend her. "What you said was kinda mean and this would ease the tension," the penny seems to drop and Aviva realizes she could have been kinder. "Anyway, you know she's got a lot going on with her dads."

Aviva considers her best friend's words solemnly before nodding. "I know, but she's not even mad at me."

"I thought her dads being home would be a good thing." Callie sighed running a hand through her curls, but ever since they sauntered back to town Belle's been different; snappier and quick to get hurt.

"It is and it isn't. They're back, but that just means things are tense in the Friar house." Aviva explained knowing from personal experience that dinners are incredibly awkward there. But, according to Belle things are about to get interesting. "Belle's dads are trying to get back into the public's good graces and plan on taking in their maid's grandkids…that's why Belle's been in such a funk. She misses Ana, that woman practically raised her and now that she's dead; Belle's pissed off and her dads want to look good. " The brunette can tell by Callie's face that she's annoyed. "The thing you hafta understand about Belle's dads is they're selfish."

"I've met a few people like that." Callie feels the heat rise in her cheeks making Aviva squint. There's something in the way Aviva's staring at her that has Callie uneasy. "I uh…I've gotta go; my Auntie Pen's here." She quickly ducks out of the library leaving Aviva to do her piece of the project solo. Callie likes Aviva, but out of all their friends; she can read her best. And that's annoying. No one besides the government employees in her family has ever been able to get that good of a read off her…not even Ben.

Garcia steers the Jareau-LaMontange children into their house. "All right Gumdrops, its homework time; the sooner you get it done, the sooner we can binge watch Doctor Who and eat enough chocolate to make Switzerland cringe." With JJ coming back from their case an hour earlier then she and Will plan on seeing Michael's daycare teacher about his behavior. That can't be good. Lately, Mikey has taken to biting and kicking. Nobody knows where he picked that up. Well, they all have an idea – when Callie and Henry wrestle they let one another have it.

Henry drops his backpack near the couch. "Did Mikey do something bad at school? Is that why mommy and daddy went there?" He plops down.

"Uh sort of," Penelope answered vaguely before feeling her phone vibrate. Her eyes widen at seeing Tanya's name pop up and she swallows thickly before turning to the kids. "Ooh sorry baby cakes, but I need to take this." The bubbly blonde flounces out of the room as Callie sits down beside her brother. The pair has begun doing their homework either in the kitchen or living room. However, as a rule, if they are in the living room; the T.V. is not allowed to be on unless _both_ of them have finished or if the other has left the area.

"Henry, I uh…" Callie tries to figure out how exactly she ought to word this. Her little brother is seven and he does not always understand everything. "I was wondering if I could call JJ, mom? I mean, would it be okay with you if I called JJ, mom too? I know she's your mom so I just wanted to make sure you were okay with it. I don't want you to get mad if I start calling her that…cause I know she's your mom."

"I won't…she's your mom." Henry shrugged and then as though his eyes brighten like a light bulb. "Hey, if you call daddy, daddy too then we'll really be like brother and sister for real."

"We are real brother and sister." The way he said that stings more than Callie's going to let on. She understands that her kid brother is seven, but it's never easy to hear such brutal honesty. And she wants to call Will dad, honestly she does, Callie just can't right now.

The idea seems to resonate making Callie feel like crap. "I know, but daddy is your daddy too."

"I uh…I can't." Callie's voice is quiet and she suddenly hopes Garcia will come floundering back in to break up the awkwardness that's forming in her chest. This really, really sucks. She wishes everything could just be normal.

"Why?"

"Because, I have a father Henry…and I don't think he'd like me doing that." His sister explained.

Henry frowns sadly. He looks down at his green homework folder. "But, I want you to." That way, everyone would know they were a real family like the ones on T.V. His friends sometimes don't think Callie is his real sister on account of her calling mommy and daddy by their other names.

"I do too, Henry." Guilt forms in Callie's chest. She does want to call Will dad, but Robert would get mad and that would only cause more problems for everyone. When he goes away, she'll definitely start then. For now, Callie guesses his first name is unfortunately all she can refer to him as. "I just can't right now though okay?"

"Okay," he doesn't sound all that pleased. But, it is what he's willing to take. "You wanna build a fort with me?"

The blonde teenager grins happily and is quick to abandon her homework. "Um yeah, but one rule; it has to be super gigantic. I'm talking all of the blankets from every room." Henry's green eyes are as wide as the moon resulting in him following his sister's actions.

In general, the hours seem to blend and blur causing time to feel like it's speeding up. Day is sucked out of the sky and is replaced by nightfall. Yes, it is the belief that chaos most definitely occurred in the LaMontange house today. How much is entirely up to someone, let's hope said someone is objective. The world around Will and JJ is dark, almost black as the man gently lifts his youngest out of the car-seat. Michael is sleepily peacefully which seems to contradict his general daycare persona. JJ seems tired and annoyed.

"C'mon, everyone loves a biter. You do." Will joked as he adjusts a sleeping Michael in his arms. He guesses they should have been home a hell of a lot, but after meeting with Miss. Selena they decided to go out to dinner. Surprisingly enough, Michael was pretty great in the restaurant. But, he also fell asleep shortly after arriving which gave them some much needed time to discuss…everything. Afterwards though, Michael woke up and it took about an hour car-ride for him to be lulled back to sleep.

JJ shoots her husband a withering look. "Will, we can't encourage that."

"What're we supposed ta do? He's barely one. Member how Henry used ta pinch everyone? I swear I thought that boy was part-crab." Her husband responded as a chuckling JJ opens the door and begins to answer, only to have her mouth fall open in shock at the state of their home. "Tell me again, how many kids do we have?" His whisper joke causes JJ to roll her eyes, amused.

"Easily four and I'm pretty sure Pen's our instigator." JJ answered watching while Will gently guides Michael into his carrier and hoists Henry onto his hip.

He has one hand under Henry's backside and the other is holding Michael's carrier. Thank God they leave that thing by the door. "Lemme put the boys ta bed then I can grab Trouble." JJ begins to open and offer to take their eldest son, unfortunately, as if on cue, Henry snuggles into Will. "I've got him, Cher. Don't worry."

"I can handle the girls." The blonde whispered as Will nods shrugging tiredly. Normally, he would object but right now he's trying to hold both his boys at once. Maybe not the brightest of plans, regardless this is the one they're going to go with. JJ turns her back to Will who's trudging upstairs and pokes the techie. "Garcia…" the profiler tries to coax her friend out of sleep, at first. That tactic gets a bit tiring. "Pen, Penelope!"

"Ooh Mr. Tennant you're so…" Penelope's eyes blearily open and then widen at the sight of her friend. "JJ! What are you…oh crap, hey – I was going to clean up." Garcia checks her phone pulling a face at the time; it's only half past nine, but these kids are somehow able to wear her out and then some.

"I'm sure you were." JJ agreed a gentle grin gracing her features.

Penelope said what she always promises. "The kids were beautiful little darlings as always."

"Somehow I doubt that and it looks like you spoiled them again."

"I'm their godmother, it's my job."

JJ rolls her eyes, although she wishes she had someone like Penelope growing up. Being spoiled with a bunch of fun yet mildly crazy activities would have been a blast. She may not voice it, but she loves having Garcia around; she and Will agree it's better to have an aunt spoil the kids than them. Spencer does it too. When he's around the kids can get away with pretty much anything. "You okay with crashing on the pull out couch? We still have to clear out the junk room and convert it into our new guest bedroom. It's on our list…sorry, Pen. The couch is a pull-out and actually comfortable, just ask Will." She promised as Penelope nods, she's slept here before.

"You put Will on the couch?" The techie can't resist smirking.

"Only when he's naughty," JJ plays along.

"Kinky," the vivacious blonde snickered before her gaze falls on a snoozing Callie. She looks so adorable when she's sleeping, like a little angel. Too bad she's got devil horns hidden by her tiara. "So do you plan on waking up your Mini? I love her too much to let her sleep on the floor. I mean we did make a pretty comfortable ground, but not comfortable enough to sleep on without waking up hating yourself."

The mother offered. "I've got her." She crouches over to Callie deciding to lift with her knees and is stunned to find that her teenager is surprisingly light. If JJ had to guess, she'd say her kid was around ninety-eight to one-hundred pounds. That seems off. _She should weigh more than that, shouldn't she?_ "I think Will and I need to talk about getting Callie to eat more protein-based foods."

"Why? Let me hold her." Without giving much of a choice, Penelope takes Callie into her arms. She holds the kid bridal-style and frowns worriedly. "Honey, this is weird; she put away like half the pizza. Do you think it's because she's a vegetarian? Or maybe the heart pills make her less hungry." Penelope gently strokes Callie's cheek as JJ mulls these options over.

"I don't know." JJ mused. "We'll set up a check-up for her."

Garcia nods her gaze refocusing. "You know, with her curls I bet she was an absolutely gorgeous toddler."

"I know. There's a photo album of pictures in her file. Tanya's been meaning to give it to me. I wish I had been there for her. I know having her now is a blessing, but I wish I could've had her from the beginning."

"She's with us now though – and she's an amazing kid, Jayje. How did you get lucky enough to get three perfectly wonderful children? And they're all gorgeous too, life just isn't fair." Penelope joked with hands firmly poised on her hips in teasing annoyance.

JJ remarked. "Yeah and they're absolutely 'perfectly wonderful' during tantrums too." Callie groans groggily and her eyes begin to open. The blonde profiler pulls a face; usually Callie's a much heavier sleeper. "Oh she's starting to wake up, I better put her to bed now." As she walks towards the teen's bedroom she offers while passing the other blonde. "Hey, if you're not tired; let's crack open a bottle of wine and talk."

"And this is why you're my favorite." Garcia perks up, instantly waking up a bit more.

No one has lugged her around in ages, it's been so long that Callie can't even recall. Actually, she can, but it was when she in the hospital for an operation. After the surgery, she couldn't sleep and Doctor Justin walked around several times the room rocking her into unconsciousness. If the blonde remembers right, he was an intern. He was also the one who gave her, her nickname. Callie blinks up at her mom. "What're you doing?"

"Carrying you," JJ thought it was obvious.

The teenager yawned. "You can't, I'm too big. Where's Will? He might be able to carry me."

"I can carry you, Callie. You aren't that big." The older blonde uses her toe to gently kick open Callie's door.

"You're strong."

JJ chuckled. "I know." She guides the young girl into her bed pulling down the blankets. "At least your Auntie Pen got you to put your PJ's on before building that fort." For that, JJ is eternally grateful because Callie wouldn't be much help right now. The poor girl must've really been goofing around with Henry this afternoon to be this tired, her exhaustion could also be due to having two tests today as well.

"Why can't I sleep in there?" Meanwhile Callie is already snuggling into her bed.

"Because I don't want you to be grumpy tomorrow," JJ is honest. Dealing with a cranky Callie is similar to dealing with a hellion Henry; impossible. And if JJ can prevent it from happening, she plans to do just that.

"I'm never grumpy."

The mom in JJ resists the growing urge to outright laugh at that statement. That is like saying she's never stubborn or doesn't teach Henry bad words. Deciding to take the high road, JJ goes with an obvious one. "You're already in your bed, it's too late now."

"Hmm okay, can I sleep in it tomorrow?"

"We'll see." JJ tucks in the sheets around her daughter. Under no means are they going to have that wild thing up when Natalie comes over to pick up Henry and Michael for school. With Natalie having to take earlier classes this semester, that's the sole purpose for putting Mike in daycare. However, she's usually to pick up the kids and even begin to fix dinner.

Callie huffed grumpily. "That means no, then."

"No that means, we'll see." The mother reiterated 'we'll see' with a tap to Callie's nose.

"Henry, Auntie PG, and I used lots of blankets and chairs. It's sweet right?" The exhausted excitement has now invaded Callie's tone replacing her somber sleepiness.

"Uh sure," JJ wouldn't call having no blankets 'sweet' and she's pretty sure Will feels the same way. Neither had a clue taking Michael to his check-up and then as a treat swimming would result in returning home to find their house ransacked. At least, her eldest children had the sense to leave Michael's crib alone. The rest of the house didn't seem to fair too well though. Will is currently putting Henry to bed and then going into his closet to put their bed back together. They may find Henry and Callie's creation absurd, but neither of them plans on taking it apart; if the dynamic duo can make a mess, they can definitely clean up one too. JJ gently guides Callie underneath her covers tucking the young girl in. Callie groans. "Shh, sleep honey; it's bedtime."

Callie grumbled. "M' not even tired."

"Uh-huh, I believe that." The mother chuckled as she stands and goes over to Callie's window. This thing is always open and try as they might to get Callie to shut it, she never does. "Let me just shut this window." Her friends have even taken to climbing in through here instead of using the front door like normal people.

"No, it gets too hot." Callie complained wishing she had the energy to get up and yank it back open, but she can't seem to find the strength to move. She had to run two miles in gym today, had two tests, and built a crazy ass fort with Henry and Aunt Penelope…that's mentally draining in itself.

JJ promised. "I'll put the AC on cool." There's no way in hell she's leaving the first floor window open to her young teenage daughter's bedroom. Callie must be more tired than she thought because usually she would agree, under normal circumstances; her nearly fifteen year old is very level-headed.

"It was a bad one wasn't it?"

"What are you saying baby?" JJ questioned as she nears the door.

"Your case, it was really bad huh?" Callie's words alone cause JJ's breath to catch and for her to pause. "I heard you crying to Will today, I'm really sorry it was bad. Are they all bad like that?" The mother turns going over to the front of her daughter's bed worriedly. She never wanted for her kids to see her cry, ever. JJ knows from personal experience that it can be an extremely frightening thing to witness.

"Oh sweets, I didn't think – wait a minute; I got back this afternoon." JJ adopts a firmer tone and folds her arms across her chest. "What were you doing home at that time on a school day, young lady?" Callie rolls over in bed grumbling in frustration, only to have JJ sit down on that side forcing slight eye contact.

"I'm allowed to go home for lunch and I did and then I went back. Auntie Pen wouldn't have been able to pick me up if I didn't." The blonde teenager is huffy and borrowing a 'duh' sort of tone. "Why do you always think I'm up to no good?"

JJ sighs. "Because Will doesn't call you Trouble for nothing." She pats her daughter's hair.

"Not my fault I live life to the fullest." Callie smirked.

"A little too fully if you ask me," the profiler responded rolling her eyes and feeling guilty at once. She shouldn't have accused Callie outright – that isn't technically fair. "Sorry for accusing you, sweets."

Callie shrugs at her mom's lame joke. "Do all your cases make you cry?" When the teenager snuck home from school that day, hearing her mom cry frightened her quite a bit. JJ strikes her as being calm and collected, Will does too, but Callie knows who wears the metaphoric pants in this house.

"It's…some do, but I think we're done talking about this." JJ can see an argument forming on Callie's lips and puts her finger on them preventing any words. "I said we're done Caroline." The mother taps her finger against them similar to what she does when Henry gets too fresh. Much like her little brother, Callie nods deciding not to push her mother any further. When pushed too far about 'off-limits' topics like work, JJ's been known to give the odd light but warning swat as though to imply knock it off. "Goodnight sweetie, I love you." The profiler kisses her daughter's forehead.

"Love yah too, mom." Callie thought this would be the easiest way to do it. She's hoping this will make it less awkward than asking like she did with Henry. But, JJ looks confused right now. Shit. Now she has to explain and ask. "It's okay if I call you that right? I know you haven't adopted me yet, but I think of you and Will as my parents and I don't think I can call him dad yet…I want to call you mom."

Tears well up in her mother's eyes and JJ chokes on her response. "You do?"

"Yeah, I mean if that's okay with you? I don't hafta, it's just…you uh liked the idea of me doing it before and I don't know if you changed your mind cause of Robert and everything that–" Callie rambled feeling her cheeks turn bright pink and her insides churn about.

"Callie, stop." JJ puts her hand over Callie's mouth. "I would love it if you called me mom." The mother removes said hand and smiles down at her. "I'd love that so much honey, but only if you're really ready."

The teenager nods. "I'm ready." Her lips purse thoughtfully. "Will won't be mad though, right? That I'm calling you mom and him...I just I don't want him to hate me."

"Sweets listen to me, it doesn't matter what you do; Will and I are always going to love you. We're you parents, we love you and nothing can ever change that." Her mother vowed sternly. She strokes her daughter's cheek and gently wipes away tears that start to trickle down Callie's cheeks. "Shh, honey, it's okay. You're okay."

"I wanna call him dad, but I don't wanna get you guys in trouble with Robert's lawyers." Callie whispered as baby tears tremble down her cheeks and JJ isn't sure if they're due to tiredness or simply out of anger. She's going to presume it's a disheartening combination of both.

"Can you do something for me, baby? Something important?" JJ asked in a soft yet serious voice. The young girl nods hiccupping quietly. "Well, can you let us worry about Robert's lawyers and you be the kid? I know this is a big ask, but it's something I want you to try to do hmm?" The mother continues to stroke her daughter's cheek and as she glances down at her daughter, JJ sees for the first time, understanding come through.

"Okay, I'll try…mom, oh that sounded weird. Okay, mom, mom, mom…" Callie nods to herself before finally testing out the new phrase one last time. "I'll do my best mom, ooh that's better. Great Scott, I've got it." She peers up at the profiler who chuckles down at her, amused.

JJ grins warmly at her daughter and kisses her cheek. "I think you just might. Goodnight Doc."


	16. I'm Just A Kid

Thank you for the great reviews! I will do my best to update more frequently and to make up for the last chapter being kind of short and late. I know there has been some inquiry as to whether JJ would ever spank Callie and I want to let you guys know that JJ is not going to use that kind of discipline. There may be a light swat every once in a blue moon, but that's about it. I'm sort of drawing off my own experiences with my parents. Oh and I understand you guys want to see Callie in trouble – I'll see what I can do!

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Chapter 16

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JJ steps onto the porch watching as Callie practically sprints out of Tanya's car and much to her surprise into her arms. Instinctively and rather confusedly, the mother hugs her child back. "Hey, how was your time at the museum–" JJ frowns feeling Callie's arms tighten around her waist. "Sweets, what's wrong?" She asked standing the fourteen year old out in front of her. "What happened honey?" At that, Callie gently sidesteps around them and into their house.

"Trouble," Will tries to snake an arm around his stepdaughter who slithers out of his grasp. He reckons the girl is going to hide in her room now, lately; Callie's taken to going to her closet. Tanya promised it wasn't a cause for much concern considering everything that's been going on. She even said it could be Callie's way of trying to gain control over a very uncontrollable situation. That remark alone worries him to no end and now Callie's current behavior is getting him wired. Not to mention the fact that Henry's teacher called saying he isn't eating his lunch. And Mike's been kicked out of daycare until he quits biting. Jesus, all of his kids seem to be running around like chickens with their heads cut off.

The blonde profiler's eyes fall on Tanya, demanding. "What happened?" Earlier this week, Tanya offered to drive Callie to and from the museum. This way, Callie could avoid hearing JJ and Robert fight and because they all agreed…but Callie's behavior has JJ worried.

"I uh – I don't think everything went as well today." Tanya picked Callie up after school and drove her to the downtown Art Museum which happens to be five minutes away from her apartment. The social worker made sure she saw Robert and that he saw her before leaving. Tanya likes JJ and Will…she shouldn't be biased, but she is. Over the past few months, she's befriended everyone in their group whether said person be Penelope or Spencer. The social worker appears upset. "Maybe you'll have better luck getting her to talk to you. Tell Callie, I'll see her for our session Monday." The couple nods sharing grimaces while Tanya heads back to her car. She's worried too, but Will and JJ are good parents.

When she was younger, Callie used to find closets her escape. They could be anything she wanted; a spaceship, a submarine, a helicopter, anything and everything. All she had to do was imagine the impossible, as she grew older Callie ventured into closets for less childish reason. Of course, Callie's more apt to go for a run than stay in her closet, but it's too dark now. So her closet is the next best thing. It was so fucked up today. It didn't start out that way. But does anything ever start out bad? Bash and Teddy seemed nice, cute even; nothing near Henry and Michael, but okay. Later in the afternoon while Robert was with them, Callie and Lillian had a very 'honest' talk about how the trial would go.

Callie pulls her knees to her chest closing her eyes. She can hear Lillian's words echoing in her ears. _I can tell you're a smart girl, you've had to be. So I want to tell you how the trial is going to go, you're going to tell Judge Cooper you want to live with us or we'll tell him about your mother being linked to terrorists in Afghanistan and how your stepfather drinks on the job._

"Oof, one of these days my knees are gonna give out on me." Will slides down beside the teary-eyed little girl. He offered to take this one instead of JJ; it's his turn to face the tough stuff. "Aw now what's got your tummy twistin' little darlin'?" He wipes her wet cheeks with his thumb, Callie glances at him. He's not bad. Will only ever has a few beers when their family comes over. "Come on, Trouble, we've always been able to talk real honest with each other."

"I-I've decided I want to live with Lillian and Robert."

"Yah do?" Will asked, he's glad to be the one talking to Callie right now cause he knows Cher would break down if she heard this. Frowning, Will LaMontange studies her. There's a distinct sadness echoing in her sapphire blue eyes. "Sorry, Trouble, but I don't believe yah." He playfully chucks her chin. "For someone so street-wise, you'd think you'd be a better liar."

The teenager's mouth falls open in shock. "I-I'm not lying. This is what I want." She continues with the lie all while feeling a metallic taste linger in her jaw.

"All right, then go tell your mama." The Southerner groans as he stands, knees cracking. But, to prove a point he has to keep at this; Will hoists Callie onto her feet. "Go on now, tell her. She'll wanna hear it from you little lady." Based on the pouty face, Will knows this is not what Callie wants. The teen plops back down, arms folded over her chest defeated. With reluctance, Will sits down beside her. _Jesus, I really am getting old; starting tomorrow, new diet._ The cop lectured. "Tell me what's troubling yah, Trouble?"

Callie licks her lips. "Lillian said if I didn't say I wanted to live with them that…that she'd…she has stuff on you guys and she's gonna tell Judge Cooper if I don't say I wanna live with them. But, I don't. I really don't." The dams give way causing more tears to rush down her cheeks.

"Shh, shh," Will puts an arm around her allowing the girl to sob on his shirt. "I want yah to know straight out that your mom, me, and the boys; we'll always be your family. Nothing can ever change that. You're my girl; I don't need a damn paper to tell me so. Do yah understand?" Callie nods mid-sob, she doesn't want to go. "I don't know what Lillian told yah, but that don't matter cause regardless of what some guy in a bathrobe tells us next week; we'll always be your family."

"Really?" Callie whispered.

Will pulls away slightly to take her chin. "Really, really," he wipes the remaining tears with his thumb. "All right, now that we've got that squared away, how about we go out for some pie? We'll get your favorite; a big ole slice of pecan pie ought ta cheer yah right up. Sugar does that." Callie bobs her head, half-wondering when Will learned that's her favorite dessert and just how he was able to recall said information. She lets him lead her back into the living room where JJ is waiting. "We're goin out for pie, Cher. Someone needs a little cheerin' up." Forever wanting to spread good news and give his girls some time alone, Will is quick to offer. "I'll get the boys all ready."

"Are you okay?" JJ asked after Callie sits down next to her.

"After some pecan pie, I will be." The girl grins leaning into her mother. She lets the older blonde play with her wild curls. Lillian mentioned something about a straightener today too, but Callie likes her hair being free or it could be that Callie refuses to do anything that Lillian suggests to her. "Mom?"

JJ smiles, she loves hearing Callie say that. "Hmm."

"I'm not sure if I ask permission for this, but can I go on a date tomorrow?" The younger blonde wanted to ask JJ something else, more specifically Afghanistan, but then her mom would wanna know where she learned that and everything would blow up. Callie figures Will can tell JJ what happened later. Right now, Callie wants to pretend to be normal. "It's with Sean…you've met him. He's only a year older, actually maybe more than a year cause I'm young for my grade, but...it's kinda your fault I'm young."

"Are you kidding me? You were born late, because you didn't want to do what you were told. Funny, I think you still do that." JJ remarked playing with her daughter's curls. Callie rolls her eyes at the lame joke. "Let me talk to Will and we'll give you our answer later, probably around bed-time."

"Is that a no?" Callie asked with raised eyebrows.

"No, I mean yes…well I uh mean no to that, but…" JJ rubs her brow, trying to figure out how to word this without sounding like a babbling buffoon. "Okay, what I'm trying to say is, I'm going to talk to Will about it and then we'll tell you later tonight." They've gotten better at giving answers on the go. Callie is less than pleased. She should've just lied like Belle said. "So it means…maybe. Don't roll your eyes at me; I could be saying no and that'd be the end, but…we'll see okay? Now, get your jacket on." Callie shrugs on her jacket watching in amusement as Will clambers downstairs with Henry on his back and Michael in his carrier. He's getting a bit too big for it, but another day won't do any harm.

His wife plucks their son off his dad. "Ooh Bubs, you're getting too big for this."

"Piggy back," Henry glances up at JJ who does her best to resist those eyes. Callie studies them wishing that she has grown up with their mom. It would've been nice to have been babied like that.

"Oh you think just because you give me the puppy eyes that I'll give in, huh?" JJ tickles him causing Henry to squeal into a fit of giggles. "I think you're the piggy here, big man." She continues with her onslaught until Will announces that Conor's is going to close before they leave the house. His wife playfully pinches him.

Having been declined requests by both parents, Henry goes to his third option. Callie peers down at her not so small brother who comes to her elbow. Surely, he can't think he's going to see many sights on her back; however, he can also just want a ride out of pure laziness. Callie smirks. "Fine, climb on." The sister relented causing her brother to climb on the couch and then her. The weight causes Callie's knees to buck for all of a second before she gets used to it.

JJ watches the dastardly duo. "Your back is going to hate you for lugging him around." The mother warned her eyes widening when Callie pretends to drop Henry who giggles. In these moments, JJ honestly wonders how the teenager is able to look like she's keeping it together when just ten minutes ago; she was crying in her closet. JJ decides to never let Reid take Callie to Vegas, because with a poker face like that; she'd clean up.

"Hear that, mom thinks your fat, Henry." She hears her daughter tease. Michael hears his siblings bickering and almost wishes his parents would leave them home. But, they keep things interesting and plus Callie is pretty amazing at the whole sharing concept. Michael likes knowing his big sister understands that what theirs is his, except what's his is…well his.

* * *

It took precisely five outfits, three of which JJ deemed inappropriate and the other two Callie declared were too dumb before the pair finally agreed. Honestly, in JJ's opinion Callie looks adorable; her curls are loosely cascading over her shoulders and she has on light make-up; not too much to make her look skanky, but enough. The mom can't help but smile at the sight of her daughter wearing a pink ruffled top, jeans, and her leather jacket. Now the leather jacket is something JJ could do without, but it works too. Callie rarely if ever wears pink.

"Oh sweetie, you look so cute." JJ gushed as she licks her thumb and wipes some stray blush from Callie's cheek.

"Mom, that's gross." Callie's face is a burning red color. "Could you maybe not spit on my face?" The mother's eyes widen; she swears sometimes it feels like she's back in 1993 having the same argument with Sandra Jareau and now she's doing the same thing with her own kid. Life is officially full circle.

JJ shrugs. "You and Henry were shaking hands with spit this morning."

"That was because we were sealing a deal. You can only do that with spit." Callie answered revealing her age as a result; she may find them a bit gross, but that's how serious business is done with seven year olds. The teenager purses her lips, looking in the full-length mirror. "Are you sure I look okay?"

"Like I said, you look great babe."

"But, you're my mom; it's kinda your job to say that."

"And I always mean it." JJ winked causing Callie to stare up at the ceiling. Great, her mom is being mushy like a Full House episode, just what she needs right now.

The door bursts open to none other than Henry. His eyes nearly fall out of his skull at the sight of Callie. If he were in a cartoon, his eyes would already be on the floor by now. Henry frowns. "You look like a girl." This causes JJ to snicker and for Callie to poke him warningly.

"Your sister is a girl, Henry." The mother reminded her son as she pulls him over to her.

"I know, but she looked like Callie before and now she looks like a real girl." Henry's answer is so childish it even has Callie chuckling. She has to admit sometimes, Henry can be the cutest little brother ever.

"And you look like a real dork." Callie teased as Henry sticks his tongue out at her. She glances up at her mother with traces of worry. "Do you really think I look good?"

"I really, really do. We both do." JJ squeezes Henry who nods in agreement. The girl smiles softly in return just as a motorbike coughs into their driveway. "That must be him." The profiler said trying to sound excited, but she and Will are protective of their brood; with all the horrors they have seen, it's only logical they would be. Callie going on a date is worrying enough, but her going on a date with a boy who rides a bike is – Will is going to freak out. "How come you didn't tell us he was picking you up on that thing?" She questioned while Henry goes to Callie's window looking in awe at Sean's bike. Callie pulls an innocent face. "Oh yeah, pull the 'woe is me' face that'll work." JJ tickles her side as they walk out of the room.

Henry's voice is exclamatory. "Daddy, Callie looks like a girl!" He feels his mother nudge him as she goes to answer the door. "I-I mean she looks like…like a real pretty princess like the girl in Tangled." The seven year old scampers after his mother, he wants to see if Sean looks like Flynn.

"Uh-huh," Will turns his eyes widen, mystified at the sight of Callie. She always looks beautiful to him, but in this moment she looks so much like her mother. He goes over to the little lady. "Your brother's right, Trouble, you look great. Now are yah sure yah wanna go out with this boy?"

"I'm sure." Callie grinned. She glances in the hallway mirror. "Makeup really does do wonders, Henry's kinda right. I do look sorta look like Rapnuzel. Do you think I should change?"

"Nah, you look fine darlin." However, the way she said that makes her stepdad squint. "I want yah to know yah don't need any make-up, I already see you as a princess." Will kisses the top of the girl's head offering her a soft grin. "Lookit, it's cause I love yah that we're all gonna have a talk before yah go." Her face changes from flushed to flustered, she had been hoping her parents wouldn't scare Sean off.

As if on cue, Sean walks into the living room with Henry in toe. He blinks at the sight of Callie and stops to look at her in awe. The raven haired male knows Callie is beautiful no matter what, but she looks stunning – like out of his league gorgeous. Will watches his reaction deciding the kid has a check thus far, but he has a ways to go before William LaMontange really approves of him. Unfortunately for Callie they're stuck here another thirty-three minutes. And she's getting fed up. Callie taps her feet and frowns whenever Will asks a question. JJ has long-since run out of reasonable inquiries and now Will is grasping at straws. He doesn't want to let Callie out and the girl is beginning to see that. Currently, her parents have moved to the kitchen and Henry along with his sidekick Mike are watching their sister's date wearing matching squints.

"I don't like him." Will announced. Truth be told, in any other context he'd like Sean Herron. The kid seems decent enough,he also doesn't have a record. Although, he is almost two years older than Callie and he wants to date his little girl. The cop just doesn't want to see Trouble sauntering off on a date. "He has a bike, Cher. We can't trust that boy."

"Will, you ran his license and you had Garcia run his license. He's clean." JJ whispered trying to hide her amusement while watching her husband pace back and forth.

He sighed. "Can't we ground her or something?"

"For what?" JJ chuckled. "She hasn't done anything; actually she's been pretty well-behaved lately." Her husband sighs causing JJ to wonder if Will wishes Callie got into trouble so he'd have an excuse to not allow her to go on a date. "We can't ground her for being a teenager and doing teenager things." The profiler recalls whenever Ross went on a date, her dad, Hank Jareau paced and Danny followed them in his car. Sandy Jareau had tried to get them both to stop to no avail. At the time, JJ found it funny, but she understands how it can be just as embarrassing too. "They're only going out for dinner."

"I still think we should have him followed. I could have a junior officer do it or we could call Morgan. Don't yah think the whole gang should know about this? It's a mighty big milestone."

JJ smirks. "We are not going to have all our friends embarrass her like that, Will." She chuckled. "And we are not going to have our daughter followed; Callie would think we didn't trust her." Sometimes it seems like they go one step forward and two back with Callie. However, they have yet to step back and if she can help it, JJ aims to continue on with this beautiful streak of trust they have going on.

"It's not her, I don't trust. It's him. I know how teenage boys think, Cher." Will said causing JJ to roll her eyes at the awful pun. Henry is in the living room, acting as chaperone to the teenagers. Callie is less than impressed with her parent's antics and has half a mind to leave, but Sean is glued to the couch.

JJ looks to where her children and Sean are sitting. "He seems like a sweet kid."

On her part, Callie is growing more and more frustrated. "This is ridiculous. Do they think you have to ask for their permission or some crap? What? Do they want you to give them a goat?" Sean's eyebrow quirks up. "I saw that in a movie once." He nods. "Fuck, I bet they aren't going to act like this when Henry starts dating; it's sexist." The blonde vented to Sean who smiles at her in an appeasing sort of way. Callie's eyes narrow and she scowls. "Shut up with that face, I'm not being crazy."

"Did I say you were?" Sean asked with affection dancing in his eyes.

"No, but your stupid face did." Callie stated making Sean snicker. The girl checks her phone once again pulling a face. This is getting annoying, Sean got here almost forty minutes ago. "Let's just go."

Seriousness etches its way onto Sean's features. "No way, Ace…your parents would think I kidnapped you – and I don't want to piss off a cop and fed. I want them to like me." He reveals the truth making Callie blink; she didn't peg Sean as the parent's type. But, her mom and Will are cutting into her date time and the curfew _they_ enforced is growing redundant. Sean leans in close. "I know by the way your brother is gawking at us that he'd tear me apart."

"Henry," Callie addressed her brother who shifts his gaze. "Tell mom and Will that if they don't give their damn stamp of approval now, then we're leaving." Henry's squint turns into a frown; he doesn't want to get in trouble for abandoning his duty, but he and Callie are supposed to be a team. "What?"

"I…you can't leave, okay? Daddy said I hafta watch you so just don't leave." With that being proclaimed and after they nod, Henry scampers into the kitchen colliding into his dad's waist.

Will's eyes are wide. "What're you doing, fella? You're supposed ta be watching your sister."

"Callie told me to tell you that she's gonna leave if you guys don't give your damn tramp of proof." Okay, Henry may or may not have left out some of what his sister told him. But, he got the gist.

His parents squint trying to decipher what he means. JJ is able to do it first and rushes back into the living room finding her daughter and Sean waiting. They really have to curb Callie's tongue. "I thought we talked about you swearing in front of your brothers." Callie's look becomes bashful and she mumbles a quick sorry. "Don't let it happen again, Caroline or you'll be in trouble." She nods. "Good, you can go. I want you home by eleven, is that understood?" JJ waits until Callie nods before going over and giving the girl a hug. Callie groans a bit embarrassed by this. "Just be happy, I'm not kissing you." JJ's warning is in a whisper thankfully. As the kids start to leave, JJ realizes something. "Wait!" Callie groans.

"Now what?"

"Watch your tone." Her mother stated sternly and then grins. "Stand by the door so I can take a picture. I want to show your aunts and uncles." JJ can almost hear Callie's cringe. "Hey, it was either this or they come over too. I flipped a coin." Sean didn't know Callie's mom was so much like his. Will walks towards the front door standing behind his wife with Henry following; the older man is wearing a tight smile, like he's swallowed a gallon of vinegar. Henry mimics his dad's grimace. "Okay now, oh you guys look so cute." JJ gushed as Callie rolls her eyes doing her best to keep from letting it show that she likes the attention. "Smile," the teens do as they're told hoping it'll be over sooner if they do. And it is.

Will shoots Sean a glare on their way out. "Son, I want my daughter's home by ten thirty." He whispered in his cop interrogation voice which then causes the boy to nod furiously. Sean dashes outside feeling a cold sweat on his back. JJ elbows Will; terrifying a boy Callie likes isn't the best idea. Will shrugs watching as Callie straps on the spare helmet before climbing on Sean's motorbike. She wraps her arms around Sean's waist making her stepdad cringe. "We shoulda made her put on knee and elbow pads before she climbed on that contraption. Looks like it's bein' held together by bubble gum and tape."

"Didn't your cousin Jared say you had a bike as a kid?" JJ's eyebrows go up.

"Sure did, but that don't mean I want my little girl on the back of one."

JJ assured him. "She's going to be fine, Will."

"Yeah daddy, don't worry, I told Sean if he's mean to Callie; he'll have me to deal with." Henry added as JJ coughs on her wine snickering and Will pats his son on the back. The parent's find his behavior endearing, if not adorable. He clearly cherishes his big sister. The trio skips back into the living room where Michael is in his playpen. His gaze is serious as Henry goes over and hoists his baby brother into his arms. "Mom, dad, Mikey just said he wants to watch Toy Story." He plops down on the ground positioning Michael so he's leaning against the couch.

Will tickles his son lifting the boy onto the couch beside him while JJ puts Michael in her lap. She squints it feels like someone is missing. "Did he? That'd be his first sentence. Oh wow, well then we better watch it Bubs." JJ clicks into the free movies in On Demand going to their free movie selection.

"Sorry about my parents, they're so embarrassing."

Sean shrugs off his helmet. "No worries, my mom's like that too." He would've gotten the riot act had he told his mother about going on a date with Callie. She likely wouldn't have let him take his bike out. His mama likes the idea of him spending guy-time with his uncle, but not riding around on a bike. A flickering lightness playfully dances in Sean's deep sea-blue eyes. "You don't have anything against heights, do you?" His questions have Callie's head spinning, there are several things on this street Sean has brought her to.

"Not yet," Callie pretends to be wary of her sort of boyfriend's words.

"It's nothing too big, just a clock tower and we're only gonna be climbing some stairs." He leads her inside and towards the staircase. "It doesn't even work anymore, the clock I mean." Callie nods following his footing. Sean takes her hand in his, ensuring she won't fall. "My great-grandfather used to fix the clock and my papa worked here, well after it became a bookstore. Nobody really comes here so much now, but the owner was friends with my papa and let us come when we want. Con and I used to come here after school sometimes and we'd climb to the top and just look out." That's when they reach the top and Sean guides her over to a window. He pushes it open slightly.

Callie comes to a stop beside Sean. He moves to show her the view. Honestly, Callie didn't think they climbed that many steps, but she can see anything in town. It's sort of like the Lion King where everything the light touches is part of their town. "I can see everything; it's beautiful."

"Yes, it is." Sean agreed his eyes on her. "This is my favorite place, my thinking place. I've never taken anyone to my place before." He follows Callie's gaze to the old clock behind them being held up by several wires attached to the ceiling, yet it isn't working. "That thing hasn't worked in forever. Here," the teenager guides his date to a table. There are a few candles, some are using faux-light that brighten their surroundings. "I-I made dinner, nothing special…basically what I got from the diner. I know you like the veggie attack sandwich so I made you that. You could have mine, but I don't think you'd like the Sean sandwich."

"I forget, what's in that again?" Callie takes another bite after asking.

Sean replied easily. "Ham, turkey, bacon, cheddar cheese, potato chips, and lettuce."

"Hold up, you put potato chips in your sandwich?" The blonde questioned with raised eyebrows, although who is she to judge since she likes putting fries in her sandwiches. But, she and Sean love teasing one another.

"Yeah, I like hearing the crunch; makes me feel like a giant." Sean is grinning as he munches on his sandwich with a pleased grin. He swallows and points at her. "Since you love the veggie attack, I could get my mom to change it to the Callie sandwich. We have names for most sandwiches anyway; well Finley's is PB & J with fluff and pickles. No one ever orders hers. Well some people do, but they always take out something." Fin always gets upset whenever someone asks to take off the pickles. Out of all the Herron children; Fin, Ms. Herron, and Sean have the strangest eating habits while Maeve and Conor have the most normal in the middle is Kendra who tends to vary based on how she feels.

"What's with you Herron's and having weird foods in your sandwiches?" Callie chuckled; she's had dinner with the Herron family before; Annie cooked pasta with tofu meatballs and bits of salmon. The tofu was a nice touch and the meal itself tasted great, but Callie never really put the two together. Sure, it tasted delicious but Callie never personally thought of having salmon with pasta. Callie has gradually begun eating fish again, solely because Will and JJ annoy her with facts supplied by Uncle Spence when she doesn't. It's protein this and protein that.

"We just have interesting palates." The raven haired boy responded shrugging as he takes a bite of his.

Callie appears surprised after she takes a bite. The veggie attack doesn't usually have fries in it and whenever she orders it; Callie puts the fries in there. "You put fries in my sandwich?" Callie is surprised and happy, she hadn't thought anyone was paying attention. The girl offers him a warm look causing Sean to playfully dab some ketchup on her cheek. "You suck at being romantic, you know that?" Callie lied, switching back to sarcasm.

"Says the girl who called Valentine's Day a holiday that's only good for free food."

* * *

Rossi sashays through his kitchen like a short order cook. Sundays are a favorite day of his. Crime is down on these days and the world seems to be at peace with one another. It also happens to be the day he met Hayden Montgomery; she was sitting at a bistro in Paris and Dave remembers being absolutely struck by her beauty. He stopped in his tracks just staring at her until Hayden made a joke at his expense, one he still can't recall, but knows it was witty. To his good fortune, she invited him to sit down and they had brunch together.

"Remember, I don't like mushrooms Uncle Dave." Callie reminds her surrogate uncle who rolls his eyes.

"Of course I remember piccola. You're the pickiest vegetarian I've ever met." Rossi responded as he expertly flips the teenager's omelet over. Penelope was smart to suggest everyone bring their own pans and mini-stoves she cleverly bought them for Christmas. JJ had just finished Henry's omelet when Kate called Meg in, ordering her to help so she could learn. Aaron did the same with Jack. Just as JJ was about to do the same with Callie, the young girl wandered over to Rossi who feigned annoyance before taking her under his wing. JJ smiled at the time, Callie isn't as close as she'd like with Rossi or Aaron. This could be a good thing. Will and JJ decided to simply teach Henry the basics in cooking an omelet, because under no circumstances is he allowed to use the stove until he's ten.

Callie shrugged. "I like what I like." She practically hops up and down impatiently. "I know how to make an omelet; it's not like cooking real food."

"Real food?" Dave clasps a hand over his chest. "You cannot even fathom the many dishes one can make with just an egg alone, omelets' are diverse. Everyone has a special way of enjoying them, piccola. If you learn anything from today, I want it to be that cooking is art that cannot be replicated. No dish can truly ever be redone. Of course you can follow a recipe, but…every chef is different."

"You think I'm a chef? I just want breakfast." The teenager replied wishing she had gone to her parents, but JJ is always saying cooking with Rossi is similar to Vincent Van Gogh teaching you to draw.

Rossi hummed. "Never be too hasty, perfection takes time." There's silence as Callie nods taking a sip of her apple juice savoring every flavor. As though being reminded of something, Callie averts her attention to Spencer and Morgan watching them. Rossi follows her gaze. "I thought you wanted to learn to cook like a real Italian."

"I do, I…I did something."

"What kind of something did you do?"

Callie's cheeks are a light pink hew. She isn't sure if he's going to tell on her. Uncle Rossi seems cool sometimes, but other times he isn't; Dave's a tough nut to read. But, she has to tell someone. She and Meg thought this out and were able to accomplish said prank. Someone else should enjoy it besides them and she couldn't tell Henry without him gabbing to everyone. This was a fun way for her and Meg to bond while their parents talked about them. "We may have switched Uncle Spencer and Uncle Derek's salt for sugar." The blonde teenager waits for Rossi to start shouting and is pleasantly surprised when he turns the stove on low to watch as well. He's doing his best to hide his grin.

"Whose we? You and Henry?" Dave guessed. Those two are the dastardly duo.

"No, me and Meg." Both of their eyes are still on Morgan who takes his first bite. His eyes go wide in surprise at first then he spits out his food; Spencer reacts in a similar fashion. Callie does her best to keep a straight face, although she's struggling. Everyone frowns at them seeming confused. Callie casually glances at Meg who doesn't dare look her way, shit, she has a pretty good poker face.

Derek scans the room in search of a culprit. His eyes stop on JJ's kid. "You do realize you're dead right?" He and his surrogate little brother shares a look promising consequences. "We'll give you to the count of ten, but I promise you kid, when we do catch you; you're going to wish you had never pranked us."

"Mom, y-you aren't gonna let them torture me right?" Callie's eyes are wide meanwhile Meg is smirking. JJ shrugs as though to say 'you reap what you sow' causing the girl's eyes to go wide. She looks to Will knowing full well he has to be the one to save her.

"Sorry Trouble, but yah asked for it."

Spencer counted. "Two, I made my omelet perfect too. I mean no omelet can be perfection, however, if the given recipe is followed precisely then it is supposed to taste delicious." He's not really mad, more intrigued as to how Callie managed to sneak by them without anyone noticing.

"Three, I'd start running now if I was you kiddo." Morgan warned as Savannah pokes him.

"You can have half of mine, Derek."

Derek shakes his head. "No, you put weird green things in yours."

"You mean spinach?" Savannah snickered as Garcia chuckles in agreement. She swears Derek eats worse than her nephews and that's saying something because they live on sugar and chocolate covered pretzels. Her boyfriend shudders at the thought of eating that leafy substance. He wanted his omelet, not Savannah's.

Callie licks her lips. This isn't fair. "It wasn't just me, Meg helped." They may be friends now but that doesn't mean, the blonde teenager is going to take Meg's lumps too. She also doesn't want to be the only one they're chasing after; it's a divide and hopefully run until they're tired kind of deal.

"Callie!" Meg complained teasingly. "They didn't have to know that!"

"Are you gonna just stand there like an idiot or run?" Callie questioned as she dashes out the backdoor with Meg following after her. It takes all of another five seconds before Reid and Derek chase after them.

Henry watches them go while eating his omelet. He shakes his head. "Sometimes it's like, I'm the big brother and she's the little sister cause she's crazier than me." The first grader sighs at his amused parents. "Maybe, I should babysit her when you guys go to parent-teacher night on Tuesday." His suggestion definitely has some merit and everyone chuckles in agreement while watching Reid tickle Callie mercilessly and Morgan put a spider on Meg.


	17. Crazy Girl

**I know it's been a super long time, but I've been busy with school and too much family drama! I also got a really bad case of writer's block. Anyway I want to apologize and will do my best to update more frequently. I had no idea you guys enjoyed my story so much! Thank you for your patience.**

* * *

Chapter 17

* * *

 _Judge Cooper can sense the annoyance radiating off Lillian. She's likely still sore that Jennifer and Will reestablished Caroline's identity. However, the practice itself was a legal formality because Caroline was formerly recognized as Rosaline Faith Jareau but is now being recognized as Caroline Emily Jareau. Robert surprisingly made no objections when the time came for him to make any. The judge sits down at his desk. "I suppose the media circus outside is not your doing, Robert."_

" _No, I uh…my publicist – ah got carried away." Robert responded feeling uncomfortable. In hind sight maybe telling Charmaine DeLucas was a bad idea. But, she's been like part of the family for years. And she was starting to believe he was having an affair. He had to tell her. Honestly, he didn't think Charmaine would tell every magazine under the sun about Callie. "I-I apologize for the inconvenience."_

" _Inconvenience? They've been harassin' us all week. Callie had ta be sent home early from school…with an escort mind yah." Will remarked in an angry tone with his eyes narrowed in Lillian's direction. He knows in his gut Robert's a decent fella, but the same doesn't seem to be holding true for his wife. But, that don't mean he likes having one of his pals escort his daughter around because she won't be left alone and Callie ain't too fond of it either._

 _Callie said suddenly. "I look different on magazines, it's like it's me but not at the same time. It's not all bad though, Andy did my history homework and we got ice-cream." Lee offers the teen a half-grin to let her know someone is listening. JJ meanwhile raises her eyebrows causing Callie's cheeks to turn pink._

" _Yeah, we're talking about that later." Her mother responded as she tugs on the girl's hair lightly. Sometimes she swears she has no idea where Callie's head is these days._

 _Robert bites his lip feeling guilty. He never wanted any of his children to be thrust into the spotlight. Vanessa would kill him if that had happened to Bash or Teddy. And the looks JJ is giving him is promising something much worse as well. "I never – I didn't think they'd go…be like that." He runs a hand through his graying brown locks._

" _They're paparazzi, Robert. Were you expecting them to care?" JJ retorted._

" _Maybe if you let Callie be part of public events more, they wouldn't be like that." Robert crosses his arms growing more and more fed up. He gets that the public is coming on too strong, but lately, JJ's been reluctant to even let Callie leave with him on their evening trips._

 _JJ's eyes widen. "Really? Well, that's not going to happen. My daughter is not going to be another stepping stone for you to use to get to wherever the hell you want to be." Robert opens his mouth to respond meanwhile Lee's eyes wander over to Callie who's staring down at her shoes, uncomfortably. He's seen this many times in custody cases; parents fighting over their child – forgetting that said child is present and…it's a disheartening this to watch especially when both parents hate one another._

" _That's not how I see our daughter and you know it!"_

 _Will clears his throat nudging his wife who looks at him angrily. He nods his head at Callie causing JJ's glare to change into a guilty frown. "Look," JJ sighed. She glances slightly at Callie. "Let's not do this in front of…uh certain people okay?" He pinches the bridge of his nose becoming silent. Shit. They really are fucking this all up. Will gently squeezes Callie's shoulders causing the teen to lean into him. Robert watches this display with a thoughtful expression as though, the pieces are clicking together._

" _Let's ah get on to business, shall we?" Judge Cooper breaks the tension. He stands with the papers in hand. "This preceding is to determine the physical and legal custody of Caroline Emily Jareau." There's a hint of reluctance in his tone. In some cases he could view this as a win; something to strive for. All foster children want this to happen, to be wanted. "Now, I feel the need to say that I understand that both parties care about Caroline. That's not why we're here. In fact, it really is a rare thing for a child to be this sought after. You guys are all good people and good parents. If there were more parents like you in the world…" he trails off. "Look, custody of Caroline will be–"_

" _Wait!" Robert interrupted. "Stop, I don't want to do this anymore." He turns to JJ. "We went at this all wrong, you should've given me more than a minute to let me figure it out and I should've gone to you first when I had myself figured out. But, I didn't and you didn't let me explain and…and we fucked up. Excuse my language, Callie, but we did; we fucked up. I-I care about you, Callie. I do. But, I know you don't want to live with me and I get that. I just wanted a relationship with you – JJ, could we all just talk a minute alone?"_

 _JJ exchanges a glance with Will who nods in return. Lillian meanwhile looks absolutely enthused. "Robert, what are you doing? We're trying to get custody here." She hissed._

" _No, I'm trying to put my own kid's happiness ahead of mine. That's what she deserves." He said before leveling his wife with a serious gaze. "And if you don't like it, well there's the door." Lillian rolls her eyes, but her feet remain firmly planted in the ground. She crosses her arms._

" _I'm not leaving."_

 _Robert nods. "Lee, could you uh take Callie out for a minute?" Lee grins happily and begins to steer the stunned fourteen year old out of his chambers._

" _Hold up," Callie stated. "If you guys are gonna talk about me, then I should be here for it."_

" _Nope, that's not how this works sweets. We're the parents and you're our kid. So what we decide in here is how it's going to be. You go outside with Judge Cooper while we talk things over." JJ declared sending her daughter on her not-so-merry way. Callie goes, a stunned JJ is ordering her around like this; usually her mom let's her get away with more. Will doesn't object. That's an even bigger surprise because he's the easier parent. She sulks following Judge Cooper out. "So," JJ turns to Robert with raised eyebrows. "What are you planning now?"_

 _Her old boyfriend grins, he's beginning to look like the old-Rob again. "I ah I mean we are going to stop pursuing custody of Callie. That was wrong. I know it was." Lillian bites her lip. She loves her husband so she's going to let him decide this. "But, we both went about this the wrong way. We should've just talked it out."_

" _We went ta yah about Callie months ago." Will reminded him._

" _To tell me I had a daughter, that's not the same as coming to me and us going over something. Look, I know I said I didn't want to know her, but that was before I actually saw her. Seeing a picture of someone is different than in person. Does that make any sense?" Robert asked as JJ and Will find themselves nodding in agreement. "So, we're done pursuing custody but I do want a relationship with Callie I'd like to see her once a month for our dinners a few days during her break, and over the summer I want her to come to Bluebell – just for a week or so. It'd be nice for her to meet my relatives too. What do you guys think?"_

 _JJ finds herself nodding in agreement. "Okay, we can work out which weekends later. I know Callie has a few things going on with her friends and I want to make sure she's in a good mood when she sees you."_

" _You ain't gonna put up a fight when I apply to adopt Callie, are yah?" The cop asked._

 _It takes Robert a minute before finding the right words. "No, I won't so long as you guys promise to keep your word and let me be part of Callie's life. She may end up being your daughter, Will, but I want to be something to her. I'll have a college-fund set up for Callie – I have the same for Sebastian and Edward. Also, I plan on giving Callie a trust fund that she won't receive until she's twenty-one."_

" _Make that twenty-five and we've got a deal." JJ reasoned, she definitely doesn't want to imagine what a recently made legal drinking Callie will do with that kind of money. No, twenty-five is much better. You have more sense about you when you're in your mid-twenties. "Oh wait, Rob, you don't have to set up a college fund for Callie; we can set one up." If Robert is surprised JJ is calling him 'Rob' again, he doesn't show it._

" _I want to. Please, let me do this."_

 _Will can respect that. "Why don't we make it a joint account? That way we all can contribute." He decides to help smooth out the tension and even shakes Robert's hand afterwards. Lillian scowls appearing like she's been sucking on lemons all week. At least everything is working out; he can adopt Callie and the past is no longer hanging over their heads is a thing of the past – at least he hopes no trouble comes to haunt them anymore. For now, all they have to really worry about are those reporters outside._

* * *

Two Weeks Later

"What's Uncle Derek gonna do now?"

"I'll take that, Miss. Caroline." JJ takes the file out of Callie's hand shooting her a look. "I-I think he's going to train at the Academy." This is the problem with different schools; Callie has a half-day today while Henry doesn't and Will is trying to make sure everything is perfect for his cousins.

As of two weeks ago, custody of Callie had been decided; Jennifer Jareau-LaMontange has sole physical and legal custody. Currently, Will is seeking to adopt Callie as well. Although, he's planning to really start the proceedings after Robert's election. He may not like what Robert did, but he's not going to sabotage him like that. Will knows how politics really work and sometimes they ain't fair. With the election coming to a close; the media has begun to leave them alone some, but JJ is still reluctant to let Callie on her own. Reporters still harass her occasionally; at least it's getting a bit better. Here's hoping after the election everything will die down.

There is a high point in this mess, Judge Cooper decided since Caroline Scott is legally Rosaline Grace Jareau that she will now be recognized as Caroline Emily Jareau. JJ was able to pick it after hearing the verdict. Much to their surprise, Callie's been taking everything in stride, well except her middle name. She thinks it sounds too sweet, however, Will pointed out that kids never choose what they're called. Callie refuses to talk about the custody arrangement, butut whenever she gets back from a weekend with Robert; she's much moodier.

Callie rolls her eyes. "Besides the baby coming, I just don't understand why he left."

"He wants to be there for your Aunt Savannah and the baby."

"You have Will and us and you aren't there for us." The teen blurted without thinking. "It sounded way different in my head. I didn't mean it how it sounded, mom. I just mean…well, it's kinda stupid and babyish." Her voice sounds strange even to her own ears. "Your job…it's not safe, right?" JJ's eyes flicker to her and she nods wordlessly. "And if Uncle Derek's leaving cause of that then I'm just wondering, why you don't leave too?"

JJ had been expecting her kids to ask this one day. She thought she still had time to think of an answer. It takes her a minute to get the words together. "You know I can't do that, sweets. I love my job, I hate the people who do the crimes they do, but I like knowing I'm taking scary people off the streets." Callie nods silently. "Hey, I love you and your brothers and if I had to choose; I'd choose you guys every time." She pats her daughter's cheek. "You guys are my heart; sometimes it feels like there are three hearts outside of my body and that scares me. That's why I do what I do – to make sure there's one less monster. Because if anything were to happen to your or the boys, well I don't know what I'd do." Callie licks her lips becoming self-conscious. No one's ever said that to her before. "Okay, that was long-winded, but I hope you get my point. Do you? Get my point, I mean?"

"Yeah, I guess…I just wish you were home more." Callie swings ever so slightly on the chair.

"Me too," the mother commented. Lately though, she has been home a lot more. Well as much as she can be given the circumstances with Derek leaving and having to readjust to having one less person. It hasn't been a particularly easy transition, especially on Penelope.

Callie groaned. "Please tell me you don't have a case while those religious creeps are here." She forgot about Will's relatives coming to town. They're apparently staying for a week and Callie just knows it's going to be awful and to make matters worse, Will and JJ said she was going to share her room with one of their spawn. _How is her friends supposed to come in now? The front door? That'd just be silly._ Callie thought. She still hasn't told her friends about the temporary policy change either.

The mother pinches her kid. "Hey, cut that out. April and Jared are family. They're not creeps for their beliefs. Even though, you don't agree with it; you have to respect them just like we respect you and your views."

"But, you don't respect my views. You still try to get me to go to church." Callie argued becoming annoyed with the fact that her parents talk a good game, but they don't always walk the walk. So she doesn't believe in God, she also doesn't believe in fucking Santa Claus either – what's the big deal?

"That's different. Callie, you're still young. Your beliefs can change." JJ rubs her brow. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees the teenager roll her eyes. She and Will have been very lenient with Callie lately; something she's starting to wish they stop. Their consistency is beginning to lag and unfortunately Callie can tell. "Don't roll your eyes at me young lady. I want you to show April and Jared respect, because I'm telling you to."

"But, Bible Thumpers are so freaky." She immediately regrets her words upon seeing the stern grimace that forms on her mother's face. "What? It's weird when people are like that; it's like when people believe in aliens." When Callie told them she didn't believe in God and would only attend church for a funeral or a wedding; it didn't go over well. Will and JJ were raised in slightly religious homes. Grandma Sandra doesn't even know about Callie's lack of thank and thank…pineapples it never came up. But, Callie has a feeling Will's side is much more so.

Her stay with the Dalton's effectively squashed any and all religious beliefs Callie may have had; they referred to the Bible constantly. If it hadn't been for Bug and Tasha, Callie's certain she would've ended up with some serious problems. Thank Pineapples – as they would say – that they convinced her about the truth. God is like Santa and since Santa's not real, neither is God.

JJ sighed. "Callie, stop it. I mean it this time."

"Whatever," the fourteen year old tested.

Her mother's eyes flicker. "Sweetie," she adopts a calm tone that only moms' have. Callie inwardly groans wishing she hadn't decided to push JJ's buttons. "Stop trying to get a rise out of me. I know you're mad about not being able to go out with your friends today, but that's what happens when you cheat on a Chemistry test."

"I didn't cheat!"

"No, but you letting someone cheat off of you is the same thing." JJ stated leveling the fourteen year old with a look daring the girl to attempt to defend herself. Instead, Callie hangs her head in defeat. "Don't pout, be happy the school only gave you two days of detention and that Will and I decided to ground you for as long."

Callie opens her mouth to argue, but then decides better of it. "Yes ma'am." She replied biting her tongue knowing in the back of her mind that she only has a few more chances before her parent's blow up at her. Callie figures she ought to save these 'strikes' for when the religious weirdo's come around. The teen's thoughts wander and circle back to something she had been pondering for a while. "Hey, mom I never asked you, but why would you have called me Rosaline Faith?"

"I wouldn't have called you Rosaline Faith unless you were in trouble." JJ responded smirking at what she thinks of as a clever joke. "I probably would have called you RJ, Ross, or maybe Rosie – actually probably not Rosie."

"So we'd be JJ and RJ? Mom that's so corny." Callie rolls her eyes.

"Oh really corny, almost too much so, but I wanted you to be named after my favorite person. Her name was Rosaline; we called her Ross. She was my sister." JJ's voice is soft. "We used to get into such brawls." The mom laughs abruptly. "You wouldn't believe how much I bugged her." Her shoulders shake. Will takes his wife's hand giving her a comforting squeeze. He thought Cher never wanted to tell their kids about Rosaline. "Growing up she was my hero, I mean we fought like cats and dogs, but we stuck together. Siblings do that. Anyway, I wanted to name you after someone who I thought was a hero – and she was. She was my hero."

Callie frowns. "Was?"

"She died when I was eleven." The profiler decides not to divulge too much information about Ross. She doesn't want to tell her children about what happened, not yet. She isn't ready.

The teenager inwardly cringes. "I-I'm sorry." JJ kisses the top of her daughter's head nodding. Sometimes there are no words to describe pain, so it's better to stay silent and just nod. A moment passes and Callie breaks the silence with an insecurity veiled in a light-hearted joke. "Do you not like my name then?"

"Hey," JJ takes her almost fifteen year olds chin forcing it upward. "It's not the name that makes the person; it's what's in here that counts." She taps Callie's chest for emphasis. Her eyes are warm. "You could be named Esmeralda or Amber and I wouldn't care." JJ remarked rattling off random names she despises.

"Those are such stripper names." Callie snickered.

Rossi hears the end part and shakes his head. "I would bestow a great gratitude to you, little piccola, if you could pretend not to know what a stripper is." He ruffles her hair smiling slightly at the wild curliness.

"Yes sir." The baby-faced teen answered with a grin.

* * *

Tanya bites her lip. A part of her is pleased this could be happening for Penelope, but another part of her wonders how the techie is going to cope with such a drastic change. The bubbly woman looks to be just about bursting with excitement; she's jumped through hoops, hurtles and everything in between to get to this point. It wasn't that Pen didn't get approved, but it was difficult to find a child who would best suited with her.

"Penelope, I may have located a child that you could foster." Tanya stated. Much to her surprise, Garcia waits for her to expand. "Her name is Leilani Shay, she's two. She lived in Hawaii with her missionary parents who uh died last month while working in Iraq. Their primary domicile is listed as Virginia." The Child and Family Services are required to send any child to their parent's primary listed domicile.

Garcia murmured. "Leilani, that's a really pretty name." It seems like every child nowadays has a beautiful name.

"Yes," Tanya smiles softly. "Well I just wanted to tell you about Leilani and tell you that she'll be here by the end of next month." At Garcia's confused squint, the social worker thoughtfully adds "There are still vaccinations and things that need sorting out. Would you…" Tanya knows this isn't policy. "Would you like a picture?"

"Oh my God, yes! A million times yes!" Penelope finally let's her excitement out as Tanya hands her a picture of little Leilani. The child is definitely going to be a beauty someday, Penelope reckons. She has caramel colored skin with soft dark brown hair and gray-green eyes to match. "She's beautiful." The blonde gushed. She wonders if there are any ugly kids left in the world. "Are you sure I can keep this? Like seriously?"

Tanya smirked. "You probably would've hacked our system to get a picture of her anyway. I'm saving us both some wasted time by giving you an extra one from her file."

"True," Penelope agreed. "You do realize I'm going to spoil this little cutie rotten right?"

* * *

Callie shifts awkwardly as the others bow their head in prayer. This has to be the most uncomfortable thing she has ever been part of. When she first met the other LaMontange crowd, they didn't hit it off either. Right now, the teenage girl wishes desperately that she could sneak out. God, this is an awkward dinner. Will's eyes flicker open and he bites his lip; his daddy would be rolling over in his grave if he heard a grandbaby of his act like this. He knows they can't exactly make Callie believe, but the least she could do is pretend. He lightly kicks the fourteen year old who raises her eyebrows at him looking just as annoyed if not more so. Will shoots her the look and Callie squints pretending she doesn't know what he wants. There's no fucking way she's going to bow her head.

"Amen," everyone said opening their eyes.

"It's always nice getting the family together." Jared said after growing bored of hearing the knives and forks clatter noisily against plates. "Yah know, I'd just like to thank God we're all together; it's been too long." Will murmurs in agreement while Jared leans back. Callie's eyes widen slightly. He sort of looks like Will, their coloring differs but their mannerisms are definitely the same. "Yah know, April and I really appreciate you letting us and the kids stay here. We just need ta find a place and we'll be out of your hair."

Will puts down his beer. "No rush, we don't mind yah staying here as long as yah need."

"That's a mighty kind offer, Cousin, but it'd be best for us to find a place within the next week." Jared replied.

"I still can't believe your firm moved you up here without giving you enough notice." JJ commented. She couldn't imagine the FBI doing that to her without getting some back lash.

April added. "Thank the good Lord, we have you guys."

Callie snickers to herself as she continues texting. JJ frowns at her daughter. She takes a sip of her wine and points at the teen. "Umm excuse me sweets, you know not to use the phone at the dinner table."

"Mom, Belle's having a crisis." Callie responded glancing up. She ignores the disapproving looks April is shooting her and keeps her eyes on JJ only half-seriously. "I hafta take this."

"Nice try," JJ murmured. The mom may have only known Callie a few months, but she can tell when the teenager is trying to sneak away and this is one of those beautifully magical times. "Belle's always having a crisis. You can talk to her after dinner."

Callie pushes her plate away, announcing. "I'm done."

"You're done? You've only eaten half your salmon and a few bites of potatoes." JJ rubs her brow. "Finish eating your dinner. I'm sure Belle's crisis can wait until after."

"How do you know? She could be dying." Callie questioned doing her best to not get annoyed with the harrumph April snorts. The teenager counts to ten once again; it's a trick Tara taught her.

JJ said in kind. "And if she was dying then she'd text you instead of the police? Let me guess, Belle's big crisis is what she should wear to free skate tomorrow." The reddened cheeks Callie's suddenly wearing lets the profiler know she was right in her previous assessment. JJ just hopes Callie won't be too pissed off when they inform her about having to take her cousins and Henry to free skate tomorrow.

"What's your point?"

"Your mama's point is that Isabelle can wait and my point, Troublemaker, is to watch your tone. We're having a family dinner right now." Will frowns as Callie huffs rolling her eyes. This is so ridiculous. "You keep up this sour-puss attitude all it's gonna earn you is time in your room." He warned lowly. From beneath the table, Henry kicks his sister. If she puts mom and dad in a bad mood, they won't let him stay up longer.

Kayla complained. "Ow, someone kicked me."

The blonde teenager glances at her red-faced little brother. Callie takes pity on him. "Uh yeah that's my bad, it was my trick leg…acts up after people talk about the make-believe."

"What's that mean?" Henry is grateful his sister came to his rescue like away, but he doesn't understand what she's saying sometimes; it's like she enjoys talking in rapid circles. Women, he'll never get them.

JJ keeps her tone cool. "That means, Bub that your sister should watch what she says next cause seeing her friends could become a distant memory." She leans in close to Callie. "Sweets, I don't know where this attitude is coming from, but I don't like it. You know better than to act like this with family around. So cool it. Your dad and I are this close to extending your grounding. Now, knock it off."

"Yes ma'am." Callie sighed.

"Thank you for helping Michael, Archer, and Allie, you two." Jared breaks the attention from Callie and redirects it onto Beatrice and Henry who are aiding the littler ones in their attempts to eat. Archer and Allie are a year and half older than Michael, but at least the babies are getting alone. Bea and Henry get along too. Jared's noticed though that Kayla doesn't seem to click with Callie. The eldest Jareau is definitely a little firecracker.

Henry and Beatrice share proud grins as Will ruffles their hair. "Yah kids can beat it now, us old folk are gonna have ourselves a talk." Will offered as he hands Archer to Henry and Jared gives Allie to Beatrice, the kids then carefully walk into the living room. Callie gears to get Michael when Will stops her. "Uh hold up, Trouble." The dad takes his daughter's sleeve stopping her from leaving. He doesn't want anyone to hear them. "I want yah ta do me a favor and hang around here tonight." He unclips Mike out of his high chair.

"But, I never get to see my friends anymore." Callie protested and then adds. "Mom said I could. You did too."

"I know what we said, but we have family in town. It'd be rude to up and take off." Will tugs on her hand. He really doesn't want to make Callie stay, but at the same time; he wants her to get along with Kayla some.

Callie purses her lips. "You aren't asking me to stay home, are you?"

"No, I'm not." He stated causing Callie's face to twist into a pout. He sighs. "Hey now, don't look at me like you just drank a bottle of vinegar instead of lemonade, I know this isn't how yah wanted the night ta go. But, you could end up having a good time." His kid shoots him a doubtful look. "You're the only one around here that's near Kayla's age, how would yah feel if we were visiting them and she took off on you?"

"She'd do that for me? That's too kind." Callie asked smirking teasingly. She gets a warning nudge for her smart aleck. "I don't like her, Will." Folding her arms over her chest, the teen huffs annoyed. "She's a judgy bitch."

Will looks around, grateful no one can hear them. "Don't talk like that, Trouble. It ain't pretty. Lookit, how about this, if yah can be a trooper tonight then you're free as a bee tomorrow night. Can yah do that?"

"I still don't have a say in this right?"

"That's right, Trouble."

Callie reaffirmed. "Just checking," she smirks at her stepdad who ruffles her hair.

"Try to get along with her…family's family." The cop playfully kicks his daughter on her way out. He chuckles at the sight of Mike waving goodbye. He swears that little monster is getting smarter every day. Maybe he could convince JJ to have another kid. Henry and Callie aren't close in age, but they're two peas in a pod and Will doesn't want little Mike to feel like the odd-man out.

The kids play in the living room while their parents talk. Callie has half of her attention on the dumb preppy show Kayla decided they would be watching and half of it is on her phone. Beatrice and Henry are playing something or other with his trucks while the babies are in the playpen. The blonde smirks giddily at a message from Sean and begins to get up, gearing to leave.

"Where are you going?" Kayla demanded causing Callie to sigh in aggravation.

"My room, I need a sweatshirt…I'm cold." Callie answered. "What's it to you?"

Kayla huffs. "My mother was right about you."

"Yeah well you and your mother can–" the blonde glances to where Beatrice and Henry are, they suddenly seem a hell of lot more interested in them than their stupid cars. Callie clenches her firsts recalling what her parents said and mustering up the courage to steady her patience. "Fucking hell…whatever, you guys can think whatever you want; I don't care." With that, Callie wanders down the hall pretending to go to the bathroom when instead, she tip-toes into her bedroom where a certain raven haired boy is waiting.

Sean turns to grin at her. He has such a charming smile. His hair is wavier than usual today. Callie forces herself to look annoyed when he wraps an arm around her waist pulling the blonde in close. "You seem pissed off, more so than usual. What's up?"

"My family's in town." Callie sighed.

"And you – I ah I mean we don't like them." Sean guessed, his green-blue eyes dancing. Callie turns to him with such a scathing glare that any other brave soldier would cower, but the Herron chuckles amused. "They can't be that bad, Cal. I'm sure they have some redeeming qualities."

Callie shakes her head. "They don't. They're religious and judgy and I think they low-key said I was going to Hell during dinner and my parents are acting like total zombies around them."

"That sucks…whenever my Grandma visits my mom smokes." Her boyfriend attempts to make Callie feel better and oddly enough, it sort of works. "But, Grandma is kinda really passive aggressive so that's fun." He added tickling Callie who chuckles. "I'm pretty sure she once called me smart and stupid all in the same sentence; it's quite an impressive feat if you think about it." This causes Callie to outright laugh. Sean smiled. "You look really beautiful when you laugh, you know that?"

"You're so corny."

"What's your point?" Sean shrugged as he lightly presses his lips against Callie's. She kisses him back pushing him against the wall for good measure. "You're feisty today." Callie shrugs with a knowing look flickering in his eyes, he loves it. The two leap apart at the sound of the door bursting open.

"Callie, what's taking you–" Kayla stops short at the sight of Sean standing awkwardly next to Callie. The two are both blushing at having been caught…well almost been caught kissing, but still. Before Callie can talk her cousin from doing something crazy, the latter turned screaming. "Mama, daddy, there's a man in Callie's room!"

The blonde looks up at her ceiling in annoyance. "Fuck me." She glances at a struggling to hide his snickers Sean. "Shut up with that face."


	18. What Can I Say

I know it has been a while since I updated. I am trying to do weekly updates. I will probably be updating more as the summer arrives because that's when school ends! Yay!

* * *

Chapter 18

* * *

April waits until the kids have left before saying. "Your daughter certainly is…energetic." She gets a gentle nudge from her husband; she levels him with a near-scathing glare and he looks down taking a sip of his beer.

"She's definitely our spitfire." Will decides to take April's comment a bit more lightly than he should or would have if it had been from someone else. "But, she's a real good kid even if she does get into trouble sometimes – like today for example." JJ glances at Will who shrugs. "She taught a pal of hers Morse Code and then let him cheat off her using that code. If yah think about it, it's real smart. Back in my day, we used ta just write on our arms."

"I used ta tuck a piece of paper into my sleeve." Jared confessed laughing.

JJ added easily. "The only time I ever cheated was on a geography test…I forgot we had a test that day and my friend Claire let me copy off her paper when our teacher wasn't looking." In hind sight, Mrs. Grover was as blind as a bat and everyone cheated. "Callie's too smart for her own good, that's the problem." Her easy-going joke causes Will to snort in agreement.

"Is it ever," Will clinks his beer with JJ's. "But, kids these days do have more than we ever did."

"That's why you have to punish them. Jared and I punish ours just like how we were punished." April puts in her two cents causing the table to still. Jared runs a hand through his hair, not feeling totally comfortable with talking about their parenting styles. "Spare the rod, spoil the child."

Will is stunned. His daddy was an old-school Southerner and he loved him, but that's not to say he approved the way he was disciplined. "Well I guess different things work on different kids." He and Cher have on rare occasion swatted their kids, but they'd never give them the Deep South treatment.

"If Kayla or Beatrice misbehaves they know what's coming. Does Callie or Henry know?" The red-haired woman asked, oblivious to the growing tension suffocating the room.

"They know they'll get into trouble. We like to try out new things." Will said. "Going the same route every time doesn't work real good on our kids, especially Callie, so we come up with punishments that fit the crime. It seems to work for us."

April muttered. "A spanking can work even better and be less time-consuming."

"We don't spank our children, April." The profiler forces out a grin. "Henry rarely misbehaves–" well his lunches keep disappearing but that's another story. "And Callie doesn't always think things through, but whenever she does get into trouble; it usually stems from a good place."

"Like you said, different things work on different kids. In Callie's case a spanking would work wonders. Beatrice and Kayla never act out because they know what'll happen and right now, the twins are too young." April responded and before Will or JJ can answer Kayla comes running in shouting.

"There's a man in Callie's room!"

* * *

Callie rubs her brow. "We are so dead. I'll have a body guard forever now."

"What's going on? Kayla's screaming and acting like a crazy person" Henry wanders into her room with Beatrice behind him. "Oh hi Sean," He yawns, Henry has seen Sean in here a few times before and due to bribes regarding candy and cash; he keeps his mouth shut. The seven year old figures with how Callie gets in trouble, he'll be able to get a go-kart by the time he's twelve.

"Kayla's trying to get me in trouble by calling Sean a man." Callie huffed before realizing that she has to figure out a way to hide Sean from her parents or else they'll freak out. And she knows there going to come storming in any second. "Can you guys do me a huge favor and help me hide Sean?" Henry holds out his hand expectantly. "Ugh, you're such a brat. I-I uh I know where mom and dad hide the candy. I'll tell you where if you help." She peers down at the two first graders who nod in agreement looking pleased. "It's in the laundry room behind all the cleaning junk."

Henry responded in kind. "Hide him in the closet over there." He points to the linen closet just a few feet outside of the door to Callie's bedroom. "We won't tell, right Beatrice?" Their auburn haired cousin nods in full agreement seeming excited about this newfound sense of deception and adventure.

"Guys, I don't like the idea of lying." Sean responded.

"Do you like the idea of dying? Cause that's what my parents will do to you and they can totally get away with it too." Callie remarked as she shoves Sean into the linen closet. Luckily enough, as the trio shuffles into Callie's bedroom their parents come storming in.

JJ folds her arms over her chest with raised eyebrows. "What's going on here?" She demanded as both cop and fed holster their weapons. Beatrice is doing her best not to laugh, but since she wants to be an actress someday she figures this is perfect practice. JJ does what her parents used to do, she goes for her eldest. "Callie?"

"Nothing, I was just showing the squirts my room." Callie shrugged avoiding eye contact. Somehow, JJ always knows what she's thinking. "They like it." Beatrice and Henry nod a little too enthusiastically at the older kid's words. "Oh wait, before I invited them in; I was having an orgy."

"What's an orgy?" Henry asked as JJ pinches her daughter who winces. She'd only been trying to piss off April, not give her little brother another reason to get in trouble during school.

Will assured him. "Nothin' yah need to worry about." The little boy nods. "Your sissy is just tryna get a rise out of your mama and me." He gives the teen a warning look all the while trying to ignore April's aghast gasp. "And she's this close ta being grounded; if she doesn't watch it." The stepdad glances into Callie's eyes. "Yah know sometimes it's like you enjoy getting winding us up."

"Well sometimes I like to say things to see if you're paying attention." His daughter shrugged.

"If you're not careful sweets, you'll be getting our undivided attention for a long time." JJ promised causing her daughter's smirk to falter.

"Kayla said there was a man in your room, Troublemaker." Will doesn't believe the teen for a minute, but he has no proof that she's lying. He also hopes to God they have no more drama this weekend.

Callie puts on her naive to the point of it being too much face. "The only man in here is Henry." She said nodding her head to the nearly eight year old who looks up at their father. JJ frowns she has to stop leaving those two alone; there's a conspiracy going on.

"That's not true! I saw a man in here with Callie. They're lying to you!" Kayla stamps her foot in frustration causing Callie to study the carpet to keep from laughing. Henry catches his sister's look and does his best not to snicker; he can tell when his big sister is putting on a show.

"That true, Bumble-Bea?" Jared addressed his middle child.

Beatrice peers first at Jared then to Henry and last Callie. The latter is giving her a desperate look. Her attention wavers to Kayla who glares at her angrily. "There was no man, daddy." The little girl has reasoned within herself that she is technically not lying cause Callie's friend was a boy.

"If you're lying, Beatrice Pearl then you'll get it." April cut in as Jared casts his wife a glare. He doesn't reckon the kids need to be disciplined like that so much as April believes in that crap.

"She's not lying to you. There was no man here." Callie steps in protectively. She may think Kayla's a bitch, but the same doesn't extend to the younger redhead who grins up at her. Anyway, Bea's doing her a solid the least Callie can do is help the kid avoid her mama's wrath. "So fuck off, already." It's as though everyone in the room stills as though someone has suddenly pressed pause on life.

April's eyes widen incredulously. Henry gapes at her; he didn't think eyes could get that big unless they were on cartoon characters. "Excuse me, little girl?" She storms over to the little blonde. "How dare you talk to me like that. Like I told ya'll before; spare the rod, spoil the child." Callie recalls when the Dalton's said that. It was always to justify something or other. That's why when Bug and Tasha told her about God being bullshit and for her own sanity, Callie believed him. In this moment, Callie suddenly finds herself being turned to her side.

It's like being a deer caught in the headlights, you freeze. The same can extend to stunned parents in this case Will and JJ freeze, luckily JJ is the first to unfreeze. She steps between her daughter and April. "Stop right there." The mama bear in her wants to attack but she holds back knowing it would only create more unnecessary drama. "Henry, we need to talk to your sister."

"That's my mom's way of saying she wants me to leave so they can yell at Callie." Henry explained to a shocked Beatrice. No one has ever spoken like that to her mama, not even their daddy. "They say it a lot." He added and peers up at his parents. "Since I already know you're gonna yell at Callie, can't I stay? I think it's funny when you guys get all mad and your faces turn all red." Will resists the urge to laugh; he likes the idea of having an open relationship with his kids. Although, they're gonna have to nip Michael's biting and find Henry's lost lunches soon.

"Go find yourself a giant bowl of ice cream, big man." Will encouraged warmly as he tickles his middle child's sides eliciting giggles. There are conversations that they can't have in front of Henry, especially when he happens to be part of the trouble as well. He and JJ prefer to divide-and-conquer. This way, with Henry being given ice cream, he may fess up more easily. Callie on the other hand is too old to be bribed and would see through the bribe in seconds.

"Bumble Bea, go with Henry." Jared tells the other first grader.

Callie gears to follow after her brother, but JJ yanks her back. "Uh-uh, you stay put." Her mother ordered.

Henry walks away, mumbling to Beatrice. "She's always in trouble; it's why I tell people, I'm her big brother."

"April, we don't believe in that kind of discipline." The profiler gently guides her daughter away from April and behind her for good measure. "But, Callie," she turns to her smug teen. "You know better than to use that kind of language. Apologize to April right now for being rude." In all honesty, a part of JJ is making Callie apologize to keep the peace and it sucks, but JJ figures Callie needs to be reined in some. She also has a feeling April would have had no qualms about spanking Callie. Yes, they have on rare occasion swatted their children, but it's never hard enough to really sting.

"Why? She was getting all on Bea for no reason." The girl sulked crossing her arms only to receive a waning glare for her trouble. Kayla is shocked by Callie's refusal to obey. No one would ever dare do that with her mother.

JJ whispered. "Because, I'm telling you to and…and I'll kiss you in front of everyone when I drop you off at school on Monday." Callie's eyes widen.

"Uh right," she turns to April reluctantly. "I'm sorry for swearing at you; it was really rude and I-I was just mad…but it won't happen again ma'am. I really am sorry." Callie moves closer to JJ feeling pleased that April isn't her mother. April harrumphs nodding in slight satisfaction with the young girl's words, Callie glances at Jared who smiles at her. "So, are we uh done here?"

Will doesn't care for his daughter's tone. "No, we ain't done here little girl. Were you and the littler kids tellin' the truth before? Cause if there was a man in this room weI gotta know; it's a matter of safety."

"There was no man in my room." If Callie were to even glance at Kayla, she'll burst out laughing.

"She's lying!" Kayla gaped.

"I would never lie to my parents." The blonde has her mouth agape at the thought.

JJ nudges her eldest. "You're laying it on pretty thick, sweets." At Callie's squint; she knows something is up. She can tell by the way Callie's blue eyes are flickering as though she's trying to come up with possible excuses on the go. "If you got your brother and cousin to lie for you, you'll wish you hadn't." The parent whisper added. "You know Henry would do whatever you said."

"So? Henry's not a baby. He does make his own choices, Jennifer."

"Don't even play that card, Callie. It's getting old." JJ's order comes out a lot harsher than she intended. Her eyes meet Callie's and she softens her tone. There's a strangled hesitance wavering on her face. There are times when she is at a loss when it comes to disciplining Callie. They don't have a history and the stuff JJ knows about her are few and far between. She's read Callie's medical file, but there are things…things JJ wants Callie to tell her. "Now what were you up to before? Because I know you were up to something."

The teenager puts on her most innocent face. "Why do you always think I'm up to no good?"

"It saves time." JJ shrugged. "Why are you always trying to put one over on your dad and me?"

Callie rolls her eyes struggling to keep the smirk at bay. "What can I say; I like to keep things interesting." At that JJ pinches the bridge of her nose; her kids are adorable demons. The girl gazes around at those standing in her bedroom; she's not giving up. "Really though, I have no idea what Kayla's talking about." JJ shoots her a look, now she's just baiting Kayla.

* * *

"So is Callie gonna get a spanking?" Beatrice asked quietly.

Henry stops mid-scoop and turns to his cousin. "No," his voice is soft almost quiet. His parents have never spanked them before like on cartoons before. Sometimes they smack their butts, but it doesn't even hurt. The boy squirts more chocolate sauce on his ice cream mountain of a sundae. "Is that what your mom and dad do?"

"Yep, mostly mama…daddy talks a lot; I like daddy's talks better."

"Sometimes they smack our butts except it doesn't hurt."

Beatrice squints in concentration before landing on a plausible answer. "They must be doing it wrong then." She glances down at the rainbow-sprinkle mess. "It's supposed to sting real bad after."

"I think they do it that way on purpose." Henry reasoned. "I don't think they wanna sting us."

* * *

"There was a man in here!" Kayla said; she absolutely refuses to let up on this matter. She saw a guy in Callie's bedroom and she fully expects her heathen cousin to get in trouble. That was why she went running to their parents when she saw that boy…Kayla only said man to add for extra emphasis.

"You're crazy."

"Okay, Callie, let's end it here huh? How about you talk to your mama? Maybe you'd feel more comfortable with her than a crowd, huh?" Will tries to appease everyone in the room. "Kayla, how would you feel about sleeping on the pullout tonight? It's real comfy, I swear." April and Jared are in the guest bedroom upstairs with the twins and Beatrice is on the air mattress in Henry's room.

Kayla huffed noisily. "Fine…it smells weird in here anyway." She saunters out with an air of bitchiness Callie had no idea was possible. Jared and April are quick to follow after her while Will offers his step-daughter an almost apologetic shoulder pat as though to say good-luck or wish a soldier well on their journey. He's a firm believer in striking a healthy fear of mama in their kids – nothing by April's standards, but enough so that they break away from the societal norms.

JJ hangs back. "You feel like telling me, what's going on? Because as good a poker face you have and you do have a good one, I know you were lying before." Callie tries to come up with a feasible story. "Be careful how you respond. Moms can tell when their kids are lying and I can tell even more so."

"Don't profile me, mom. It isn't fair." Her daughter whined.

"What isn't fair is having your kid lie to your face and think she can get away with it." JJ said as she chucks the kid's chin. "Come on, you know I can tell when you're lying so why do you even try?"

The blonde girl deliberately averts eye contact. "You know if you keep reading my mind, I'll need like serious therapy someday. I mean I could actually go Silence of the Lambs kind of nuts. Do you really want that?" This time, Callie looks up to give her mother such an innocent pout, JJ swears she did the same thing to her own mother; the profiler is taken-aback by their similarities.

"Me reading you has nothing to do with being a profiler and everything to do with being your mother – wait when were you watching Silence of the Lambs?" JJ questioned as Callie shrugs. "You know you aren't supposed to watch rated R movies without asking first."

Callie holds up her hands in defense. "I watched it with Will, it was his idea."

"And you didn't have any nightmares?" The mom is genuinely surprised. Callie may put on a tough front, but whenever they watch anything remotely scary she pulls her sweatshirt over her eyes trying to make it look like she's watching when JJ knows she isn't.

"I'm not a baby." Actually yes, Callie did have a few nightmares but there's no way in hell she's going to admit it; not in this lifetime. "Hey, didn't Will say something about ice cream? Let's get some."

"You're always going to be my baby." JJ has to refocus and taps the top of her cunning daughter's head. "Okay, quit trying to distract me. What's going on up there? I know you were lying about something before, I just don't know what." Sometimes Callie is way too clever for her own good, JJ often wonders what it would've been like to raise Callie from the get-go.

The kid plays dumb. "Then how do you even know I was lying if you don't know what it's about?"

"Because I know you and I know how you work." JJ answered without even thinking.

Something flickers across Callie's eyes, it happens so fast that JJ misses it. But, she knows almost instantly that she said the wrong thing. Her daughter peers around. "I don't see a man in here."

"Neither do I, but that doesn't mean there wasn't one in here before." JJ knows when someone is giving her the roundabout and she doesn't appreciate her teenager trying to outwit her. There are times JJ finds it amusing, but today is not one of those moments. "Callie," she sighs and squints studying the fourteen year old.

The younger blonde shifts under her gaze uncomfortably. "What?"

"I'm just wondering why you don't let people see how smart you are, because you are smart, I mean you'd have to be pretty smart to know Morse Code, teach it to Wyatt and let him cheat off you." JJ rubs her brow weary with this tiresome lecture once again. She shakes her head. They've already spoken about it, so there's no need to hash it out even more. Callie sighs causing JJ to recall hating it when her mother drudged up her mistakes. She runs a hand over her daughter's wild blonde curls. "I wish you'd use that power for good and not evil."

Callie's cheeks turn pink. "I'm not that smart."

"Yes you are; you know you are. You just don't like people to see it because that'll mean they might notice you for something good and prove you're more than a delinquent." JJ tries to make up for what she said or didn't say before. She tilts her head to the side, studying the girl. "Callie, I want you to promise me something." Callie glances over at her meeting JJ's eyes. "I want you to promise me you will never dumb yourself down – for anyone."

"Yeah, sure." Callie shrugged. Upon receiving a look that clearly means it wasn't good enough, the teenager elaborates. "I promise I won't dumb myself down." She feels an embarrassed dimpled grin tugging on the corners of her cheeks; no one has ever made her say something like that before.

"Good." JJ frowns thoughtfully. She has to know the truth. Will and her have this deal where he uses the soft-touch approach first, but they're both believers in instilling a little fear of mama within their kids. Basically, they want their kids to worry about being punished and take punishments by mom a bit more seriously than dad. And most times, they do, because Will is home more and she travels with the team so 'mom punishments' generally are more serious. "Sweets, be honest with me, is there anything going on that I should know about?"

The girl rocks on her heels. She does want to tell JJ, but she doesn't want her mom to freak out and for her to be stuck at home with these religious freaks for an entire weekend. "I don't know what you want me to say."

"The truth would be nice."

"You won't like the truth."

JJ has to be honest. "I might not, but I'd like that you told it to me."

"Promise you won't get mad or freak out?" The kid asked after giving it some thought. If she's grounded this weekend, then she'll be stuck here with the religious dicks. And Callie wants to go to free skate tomorrow; it's supposed to be the last one before summer. They do it at the local rink for one last party as though to proclaim to all the kids, 'who's ready for summer!'

"You know I can't promise you that, but I can promise I won't stay either of those things forever." Her mom said staying diplomatic and firm all at once. This parenting deal is a juggling act, JJ's finding Callie is a tougher nut to crack than Henry which makes sense but at the same time; it's difficult when you feel like your kid is hiding several hundred things from you.

Callie sighs, stepping into the hall. "Just…it's not like I did this on purpose." With that, she opens the linen closet door revealing her raven haired boyfriend in the process.

"Hi Mrs. Jareau-LaMontange," Sean stated with an awkward grin. A part of him is happy Callie told the truth and a larger part of him is scared that Mrs. Jareau is gonna shoot him with her gun. She's a fed. Callie's right, she could definitely get away with killing him.

"Sean! What are you doing here?" JJ demanded feeling a bit disappointed and worried. She peers around as she yanks the pair back into Callie's room. The profiler refuses to give April the satisfaction knowing her angel of a daughter was right. "So Kayla was telling the truth." She really wanted for Callie to have been right before.

"No…I mean yes, well kind of." Callie rubs the back of her neck. "It wasn't a man. It was just Sean in my room."

Sean frowns. "I feel like I should be offended by that." He receives identical glares for his remark that instantly cause the boy to be humbled. "And yet at the same time, it's totally cool with me."

JJ closes her eyes as though praying for patience. It doesn't work. "Sean, go home. I'll be calling your mother about this later." Sean winces as he does as he's told. His mom is going to be pissed. Here goes his weekend. On his way out of the window, JJ sighs. She meant for him to use the front door, but it's maybe better that he leave the same way he came in. Callie looks a combination of upset and embarrassed. "Don't give me that look. Care to explain why Sean was here at this hour?"

"We weren't trying to do it or anything. I swear." Callie adopts a more respectful tone. "That'd be super gross if we did it with you guys like ten feet away. Look, nothing was going on, sometimes he comes over and we like to be alone without everyone bugging us to…to just talk. Nothing else, I promise."

"Excuse me? Caroline, you two can be on your own in public and yes I know that doesn't make any sense, but I'm your mom so I don't have to always make sense." The mother ranted as she tries to lower her voice a bit. "Look, you know you aren't allowed in your room with the door shut – we didn't even know he was here!" Okay, JJ has to force herself to calm down. Then a sudden realization hits her and she swallows nervously. "Callie…has anyone ever talked to you about sex? I know it can be awkward to talk about with your mother, but it's important you know that–"

"Mom, stop." The girl interrupted wishing she could be anywhere but here. Callie thought she skipped over that awkward sitcom moment when parents had 'the talk' with their kids. She counted herself lucky and objected when Tanya attempted to bring it up. "I was a public school kid; I had the sex talk at like ten. I know what sex is and all about STDs and stuff. It's really not a big deal anyway. I'm all good on that stuff." JJ raises her eyebrows making Callie's cheeks flush. "I mean, I-I've never had sex before but I just know about it. That's what I mean."

JJ is so relieved to hear that. She doesn't want any of her children to have sex until they're in their mid-thirties, maybe even late forties. But, being a grandma sounds easier. They should all just adopt some kids and never have sex. "All right, I'm glad you know about sex – and I'll have you know sex is a very big deal; it's a huge deal. It's a big commitment between two people." Callie nods. "One that I hope you wait for, but if you ever do decide to have sex; please tell me. I won't stop you...actually, you know what? I'll definitely try to stop you, but I just want you to tell me anyway." The mom said before her eyes narrow. "Why did he use your window and not the front door?"

"All my friends use the window, they like it better."

Deciding to be a more rational version than her own mother was, JJ frowns. "Honey, your friends are weird, the best kind of weird, but weird." Callie isn't sure whether to be annoyed or amused with this because her friends are as strange as her mom's. "I want you to know if you want to have people over that's perfectly fine, but tell us when they get here." The teen dips her head. "You can always have friends over, but sneaking them into our house and not telling us isn't okay on any level."

"But, they like climbing through my window." The fourteen year old responded causing JJ to inwardly sigh wondering why her kid can't have normal friends. "They think it's cool." Callie shrugs.

"If they want to climb through your window – I guess that's okay, but as soon as they step foot in this house; you tell us. Is that clear, young lady?" The mother crosses her arms.

"Yes ma'am." Callie responded respectfully and she means it.

JJ said nodding. "Good, if I hear you haven't kept up with this new rule then your friends will have to be boring and use the front door like everyone else. Oh and from now on, I want this window shut and locked by nine. I'll be in every night to check – not on you, but the window okay?" Safety is a huge deal in their household, Will and JJ are known for being unflinchingly overprotective of their kids and they make no apologies for it.

"Okay…you can trust me mom."

"I know I can baby, but for the first couple weeks that's how this is going to go." The mom said wanting to her kid to understand where she's coming from and nods. "All right, now that we've cleared that up, let's go on to your punishment." Callie's eyes widen; she'd been hoping JJ would forget about that. JJ smirks. "Oh isn't that cute; you thought I'd let this slide. Look, you aren't being punished because Sean came over; I do believe you didn't know he would be coming. But, you lied and had Henry and Beatrice lie for you too." JJ stated as she rubs her chin in thought. "So, I'm thinking you re-organize and clean out the garage."

Callie tries not to look surprised. "That's it?"

"Did you want more?" The profiler asked with raised eyebrows. Her mother used to say that too. JJ can hear it as plain as day – she had snuck out to a concert and her mother caught her sneaking back in. Only, Sandra Jareau didn't get as pissed off as JJ had thought she would have. In fact, JJ was only grounded for the weekend. It was the most rebellious thing she had ever done and additionally, the only time her parents went easy on her.

"No way," Callie shakes her head reminding JJ of just how similar they are. Yet, at the same time, JJ knows they are so different too. Callie does play sports like she did, but she doesn't have the same passion for it. Her passion lies quietly with the arts and goofing off with her friends. Callie is definitely the kind of teenager JJ always wanted to be, but never was out of fear of pushing her parents off the edge completely. Her daughter added in an awkward ramble. "But I thought there'd be more, like me being grounded till I'm eighteen or something."

JJ winks in Callie's direction and goes on to add. "I'm saving that for if you get a tattoo." She ruffles the teen's wild blonde curls while beginning to exit her room.

The teenager hesitantly stops her. "M-mom, can I ask you something?"

"Of course sweets," JJ turns coming to a halt just inches away from the door.

"Before, when t-they were in my room…you wouldn't – you and dad wouldn't have let her ah…" Her daughter's cheeks flush in shame. It didn't seem like either of them had planned on doing anything for a minute, it honestly felt a little touch-and-go there so Callie's just wondering.

JJ goes over to Callie and puts her finger to her lips. "No way in hell." She vowed affectionately, April had no right to even attempt to do that. But, JJ doesn't want Will to feel isolated from the only family near them. "Honey, your dad and I are the only ones who have the right to discipline you and you know we don't do that. Yes, we've swatted you on occasion and have joked about it…but you're our kid – and you know, we don't believe in spanking. Some parents do and some parents don't. Lucky, for you, we're the kind of parents who don't." That's the solid line. JJ has also heard Reid rattling off enough parenting research to steer clear of that approach forever.

"So you don't think Will's mad at me? I mean, I know I'm not really his but I just don't like making him mad. I see him as my dad so…uh yeah."

"He sees you as his daughter. That's why he wants to adopt you." JJ is trying to understand what's going through Callie's mind; it's like they go one-step forward, two-steps back. "He loves you as much as he does Henry and Michael; you may not be his biologically, but blood doesn't make a family. The BAU team aren't your biological family, but we call them your aunts and uncles because that's how we see them." She guides a loose curse behind Callie's ear. "Honey, if I hadn't stopped April; I know he would have. We were just stuck in the moment. Parents get shocked just like kids."

"I know that. I just mean…about Sean." Callie rocks on her heels feeling flushed cheeks.

JJ decides to be honest. "Maybe, but I'm going to tell him about this later." Callie's face falls. Her mom takes the girl's face in her hands forcing gentle eye contact. "Hey, we've already gone over your punishment so there's no changing or adding to it. That's in our rules."

"That's not what I'm worried about."

"What are you worried about then?" Her mom exasperated, she not a mind reader.

Callie sighed, frustrated. "He's like my dad a-and I don't want him to think I'm a slut."

"What?" JJ blinks; never did she expect something like that to trickle out of Callie's mouth. In fact, she hadn't really thought about any of her children cussing before. "Honey, if you ever and I mean ever use language like that to describe yourself I'll wash your mouth out with soap." Now it's Callie's turn to be stunned. No one has ever done that to her before. "Don't think I'm joking, you are not a slut. Is that clear?" Her daughter nods silently. "Here's where you say 'yes ma'am' sweets."

"Yes ma'am."

The mom nods feeling much more satisfied with this talk than the last one. At least now they both seem more relieved – even if she's going to have to tell Will the truth. He might go nuts. Hopefully, he loses it in privately while they're in their room alone. "Good, now, do you want to watch the movie with everyone? We can grab some ice cream."

"No thanks, I think I'll just hang out in my room and read a little." Callie can tell by the look on her mom's face that she's debating whether or not to make her watch. "I won't call Sean back over, don't worry. I just want some time to myself – to breathe, yah know. I didn't think Will's family was going to be so unlike Will." When they said, Will's cousins had a daughter her age she had been hoping the girl would actually be cool but Kayla sucks. And now Callie's almost certain she's going to have to deal with her more because Jared's moving up here. JJ doesn't say anything, she knows bad-mouthing Jared and April may come back to bite her. Callie suddenly pulls a face. "Mom…could you maybe not punish Henry or Beatrice? They only lied cause I told them to."

JJ uses her daughter's words against her. "I thought Henry could make his own choices." Callie isn't quite sure what to say now. "Beatrice isn't my daughter, so I wouldn't punish her and I really don't want to have to hear her being punished in our home." Saying that is a mistake, JJ realizes and she said it without even thinking. She swallows. "But, Henry will be punished. It wouldn't be fair if we only punished you for lying, when both of you did it. So, I'll talk to him later."

"I don't mind if you only punish me. I bribed him." Her daughter further reveals details JJ wishes she didn't know, because now her interest is peeked and she wonders how often Callie bribes her brother and with what. It's not like they give the teenager that much money for her allowance.

"Henry has his own mind, Callie. He makes his own choices just like you. We're done talking about this." JJ said in a matter-of-fact tone letting her kid know to quit while she can. "Do I even want to know how you bribed him? Or is that something I'm better off never knowing?"

Callie thinks for a moment. "It'd increment myself if I told you more."

"Remind me to sign you up for SAT prep, because you mean incriminate." The profiler said her eyes are twinkling as Callie shrugs. "It was very sweet of you to try to take the fall for him, but you don't have to be the hero all the time." Callie seems confused by that statement. The mom nods. "All right, night baby, I'll see you in the morning." JJ pats her cheek one last time before going to the door. "Oh and sweetie," the mother stops leaving the door only slightly ajar and looks back at her eldest.

"Yeah mom," Callie said jumping onto her bed with sketchbook in hand.

JJ puts on a poker face of her own and muses. "I'm nailing your window shut tomorrow." At Callie's almost betrayed look of complete and utter shock, her mother smirks at the girl. "See, I like to say things too…just to see if you're paying attention."


	19. Forget You

This takes place right before Tribute, but Emily comes for a visit and to take a break from her Interpol case. I know this is straying from the story line; however, this was the only way I could stay true to my story without doing any time jumps. I've gotten kind of sick of those. It is nearing summer though, so if anyone was curious about where this story was in terms of months, I'd say late-April. Kayla and Beatrice are going to be entering Callie and Henry's respective schools which will cause issues because Kayla's going to fall into a different (more bullying) kind of crowd than the one Callie has become attached to.

* * *

Chapter 19- Forget You

* * *

"I think we should put mustard in her shoes."

"What? Are you insane? Seriously, are you?" Grace questioned in a low voice. "We'll get caught and I can't get in trouble again and neither can you." Last time they did, Aviva's mom gave her an ultimatum; either she shape up or they're signing her up for the Pep Squad. Something her friends find both hilarious because Aviva is Aviva and the girls in Pep Squad are bitchy – Aviva's sister, Maggie, runs it so in a way this is a punishment for both sisters.

Aviva rolls her eyes, frustrated. Belle would have agreed. Unfortunately, much to their dismay and Belle's shock paired with annoyance; she had to go to a movie premiere early this morning. She was informed about it an hour before she had to go. Lucky for her, the premiere is in L.A. so that's a plus. Then they're going to meet Mitchell in New York to sign adoption papers for their deceased maid's eight and four year old grandchildren, Emery and Vienna Ramirez. According to Belle, this will be their big charity. "Do you think I'd let us get caught?"

"Don't make me answer that." Grace answered feeling her cheeks go pink. If only Mason was here to help diffuse Aviva's rising temper. Only a rare number of people can do that – Mason is pretty decent at it, but Callie and Alex are the real heroes. However, the duo seems intent on pranking Kayla.

"Why don't we all try to enjoy ourselves? I don't like her either, but she's not worth getting reamed." Wyatt said as he sneaks a chicken nugget off Zac's plate. His sort of in a way boyfriend bats his hand playfully. With his parents being out of town for their anniversary he didn't get into any trouble for the cheating, unfortunately, they're coming back tonight and have made promises to deal with his behavior then.

Zac shrugged. "I second that." As annoying as he finds Callie's cousin, he doesn't want to start a thing over some snide comments Kayla is tossing their way. "Let's go skate more before I go. Do you still want to go to Vincent's writing thing?" Zach's brother is the most bookish ten year old Wyatt has ever met. Zac also has two older sisters, Alisha and Naomi. Wyatt's noticing he comes from an accepting, if not crazy family, Wyatt knows his mom is okay but his dad and brothers are a totally other story. They don't get him.

"Of course," the brown haired boy smiles causing Aviva to roll her eyes, she thought they skipped out this when Mason declined saying he had SAT prep. As much as she likes Mason and Zac; it gets irritating when they go all gooey over things they never used to care about.

"Can we get back to the point?" Aviva sighed in frustration.

"What is the point?" Zac inquired.

Alex declared laying his cards on the table. "I think Callie should talk to her cousin."

"She's not my cousin." Callie responded with a hint of anger in her tone. She didn't want them to come along and now her parents are practically forcing Kayla onto her. This isn't like the situation with Meg. Callie isn't jealous of Kayla; in fact, she thinks Kayla is the most obnoxious person she's ever met. She'll definitely get along with the annoyingly pompous bitchy types at school though.

"Well, whoever the fuck she is; your family brought her here, so you need to talk to her." Alex shrugs looking a little taller with his skates on. He plays street hockey in his neighborhood – and Callie often plays too, whenever she comes over. For a girl, she's not bad. He glances down at his youngest brother, Jake who is struggling to stay up with the rented skates on. Nicky preferred staying with Garcia. Alex only took the boys with him because Jade is out of town and dad has been weird since his transfer to some prison. And Sophia has been staying out of the country with family friends.

Callie hoists the three year old onto the bench. "There you go, Jakey. You want some fries?" She offers him her cup of fries and in doing so; the little boy grabs a fistful. "Look," Callie glances at Alex who has on his 'soft face' the one he only wears around his younger siblings. "I can't just tell Kayla she's being a bitch. She'll tell my parents and I'll get in trouble. Last night, was like my one and only free pass." She and Will had a serious talk about boundaries this morning. He was understanding, but firm in that he doesn't want to see Sean around for at least a week.

"Ugh you're lucky your parents are so cool." Grace said making the others scoff at her. She frowns. "I usually have to sneak Mason in, lucky for me, I don't get caught." Maggie keeps her mouth shut. Everyone offers a stunned look causing Grace to smirk. "Didn't expect me to say that did you?" She saunters off to skate with Wyatt and Zac leaving Alex, Aviva, and Callie behind. But, nothing good can come with those three together.

"We should really consider bringing Grace in on more things. She's a low-key badass." Callie whispered to her best friends who in turn share shrugs in agreement. "So, are we seriously gonna do it?"

Before Alex or Aviva can reply, someone else answers. "What we going to seriously do?" Reid asked going over to his evil genius niece. He and JJ have talked about it at great length, Callie's smart for her age but she loves pulling pranks and messing around too much to focus on anything else. And just like that Alex and Aviva vanish from her side leaving Callie with Jacob. Spencer offers the little boy a hint of a smile. "So," he sits down motioning for Callie to do the same. She does causing Jake to crawl on top of her. "What were you, Alex, and Aviva planning?"

"Easy does it Jake," Callie chided as she re-positions the boy on her lap so his skates aren't cutting into her sweat pants. She swallows at him. "Ah uh, nothing Uncle Spencer…it was just a joke."

"You know your nose crinkles slightly when you tell a lie." Spencer stated seriously and then after some thinking decides to add. "Since your brain isn't fully developed yet in some ways your behavior can be condoned, however, in others ways you're at the stage where you know you should be less egocentric." His words cause Callie to squint in mild confusion. "All right, take, Jake for example." The boy grins at someone saying his name causing Spencer's eyes to warm. "His brain is less developed than yours and he is at Piaget's egocentric Preoperational Stage which makes sense considering he is more dependent on others. However, you are at the Concrete Operation Stage where yes you depend on your parents for some things, but not survival."

Callie's brow furrows. "What are you talking about Uncle Spencer?" The genius in question bites his lip and then the puzzle pieces fit together. "Oh wait, I get it…I don't mean to keep messing up. I have no idea what I'm doing or why and it's like they're just waiting for me to mess up anyway."

"I presume the 'they' you are referring to are your parents. So you think your parents wait around for you to get into trouble?" Spencer questioned with raised eyebrows. He often wonders how someone as smart as Callie can frequently be so clueless when it comes to things. However, her age should be considered into the equation as well – she may be clever, but she is still very young and impetuous.

"Well yeah," Callie said feeling her cheeks turn bright pink as she confesses her feelings. "I'm not the golden boy like Henry or the baby like Michael and I don't want to be either of those things cause that's not me so there's really only one choice left and it's one I'm kind of good at it."

"So your parents have labels for you and your brothers."

Callie scratches her head. "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? You said it." The surrogate uncle folds his arms across his chest.

"Yeah but when you say it, it seems kind of dumb." She answered frowning; talks with Uncle Spencer are always honest, partially because he's too good to lie and partially because he's a shitty liar.

Spencer nods. "It does seem dumb huh." He remarked shooting his niece a look. "I understand you and Kayla have your issues, but…it can't be easy leaving everything you know behind." From what JJ has told him; he can see why Callie is annoyed with Kayla and even going as far as having her friends plot something, but he also knows that going that route has never worked for his niece. Callie purses her lips while trying to steady Jake who seems intent on wanting to climb down. "What I'm trying to say is, don't do something you know you'll regret. We all…there are always going to be people who annoy us in life, but it's how we respond to them that defines us and I know you're better than whatever prank you want to pull."

"How did you know I was even planning a prank?" At his pointed look, Callie feels her cheeks redden. She licks her lips tensely as she stands up. "Okay yeah I'll tell the guys not to do anything."

"Good," the uncle smiles awkwardly down at his surrogate niece. "After you tell them that, your mom wants you to come over for a minute. She has someone she has to introduce you to. Don't worry; I know for a fact that this is one person you'll actually like. Oh and yes you have to meet her." Spencer added. For some reason, JJ wanted him to add that. Callie rolls her eyes shrugging in return as she wanders off leaving Jake with Spencer. Alex trusts him and the little guy seems content enough. "Ah uh well I think I can recite Hamlet if you like. That's a play written by William Shakespeare, my mother used to read it to me." Jake claps his hands snuggling into Alex's friend. His daddy is never this nice. He's always pulling mean faces and mad for some reason. "All right, let's begin…"

Callie wanders over to her mom who is talking amicably with some black haired woman. With Spencer's words of wisdom rolling around in her head, Callie totally forgets about telling the others not to pull a prank of Kayla. From the rink, she can see Will and Jared helping Henry and Beatrice skate while Kayla skates with Grace. The young teenager rolls her big blue eyes, out of everyone in their group; Grace is the nicest. Well, she and Wyatt are the nicest but Wyatt seems fed up with Kayla's 'subtle' comments about his friendship with Zac. April is busy chatting away on her phone while skating with the first graders and her husband.

"Hey babe," JJ kisses her cheek. She'll thank Spence later. "This is your Aunt Emily." Callie looks up at the woman whose mouth drops in shock.

The woman commented. "Holy shit she looks just like you Jayje." She receives a hard look for swearing and Emily rolls her eyes. "I uh I mean yeah I meant what I said. Wow, it's like she's your mini-me." Emily was surprised to say the least when JJ first told her about having had a daughter before joining the FBI. Of course, this was after Emily confessed about her abortion and JJ was trying to comfort her.

"Mom and Will kinda named me after you. My middle name's Emily." Callie grinned.

"Yeah that makes me like you more. I bet Garcia was super jealous when she heard about that." Emily said winking at the teen; JJ watches the exchange giving Michael some cut up watermelon from her knapsack. She always knew these two meeting would be a great thing and plus, they didn't have to go all the way to London for it to happen. JJ knows she would have gone crazy with the details involved in that potential trip. "So, do you have a boyfriend or uh a girlfriend? I don't judge, kiddo."

Callie's cheeks blush. "Boyfriend, Sean…but I kind of can't see him for a little while."

"Oh no, what'd you do?" Emily got her just five minutes ago which allowed for hugs and cuddles with baby Mike, but not enough time for gossip about last night. She catches the way Callie's eyes flutter over to her mother for all of a millisecond, but nods nonetheless. "We'll talk." She assured the teen.

Aviva watches Alex peer around before grabbing April and Jared's hockey bag. Hopefully, he can remember which shoes Kayla was wearing. Aviva bites her lip and sighs reluctantly. "Look, I know how this is going to sound coming from me, but uh fuck maybe we shouldn't mess with Kayla – at least not today." The brunette is definitely going soft; having all these mushy ass people around her is speeding up the inevitable process.

"Why?" Her male companion wondered. Kayla's been a royal bitch to Wyatt and Zac…Wyatt gets enough of that macho crap from his brothers; he doesn't need it from this weirdo too.

"Callie would be the one who got in trouble, not us." Aviva stated seriously. As annoying as she finds Callie, the girl is still her best friend. "She's the one with her whole family around." If they were to pull off this funny prank then Callie would be the one taking the fall and she's done that a lot lately.

Alex purses his lips. "C'mon the look on her face would priceless."

"I know; it's just…just put it back. I can't get in anymore trouble, you know that."

"Like your parents would actually sign you up for Pep Squad." He muttered under his breath waiting until Aviva leaves before taking a pair of Nikes and squiring some mustard into the toe of each. Alex smirks before he gently places the shoes back into their bag. That'll teach Kayla not to call Wyatt a queer. He slithers out from beneath the bleachers colliding into Reid who has Jacob on his hip.

Spencer squints. "What were you doing under there, Alex? Before you attempt to lie and I know you're thinking about it because you're biting your lip. He always does that right before telling a lie."

"I-I do not." His cheeks turn bright red nonetheless while Spencer smirks.

"Yeah, then why were you beneath the bleachers?" Spencer questioned and then sighs. "Were you attempting to look up females' skirts? Because that is incredibly inappropriate behavior, I understand that these teenager years you as a male specimen are at your sexual peak however–"

"Woah, woah, uh yeah I think I want to burn my ears off. I wasn't looking up girls skirts. That's serial-killer weird and just not cool." Alex said shuddering at the thought alone. As the profiler opens his mouth to question him further, Alex's cell buzzes causing the teen to sigh in relief; anything to get away from this conversation. "Thank God – oh uh it's my dad, I gotta take this." Spencer nods as the boy scurries off to take Frank's call. Alex only really knows Rossi best, but somehow the genius profiler has managed to become a mentor of sorts in his life. _Fuck, Callie comes from a weird family;_ Alex thought half-jealously.

Callie spots Aviva slither out from underneath the bleachers and a few minutes later Alex does, only to be stopped by Uncle Spencer and Aunt Emily for his trouble. "Fuck me." She muttered under her breath. Being the closest one around her, Emily's eyebrow's goes up causing Callie to swallow hard. "I-I wanna skate with my friends now."

JJ catches the teenager's arm stopping her. "What's your rush, sweets?"

"I'm bored." Callie lied wanting desperately to avoid whatever may or may not happen when Kayla discovers the mess that her shoes will have become.

"Have a snack first please, you're burning off a lot skating and you hardly ate your breakfast. Are you sick? Is that why you didn't eat much?" JJ feels her forehead frowning in concentration Callie doesn't feel warm. "Do you feel dizzy or nauseous? Or do you have any numbness?" That may sound crazy, but it could be related.

The blonde teenager groaned. "I'm fine mom."

"Are you sure?" JJ takes Callie's wrist frowning. Emily watches as though appearing almost amused by the strange controlling nature JJ has possessed. She knows the Jareau-LaMontange parents are by second nature protective, but this is going several leaps over the top. "Let me take your pulse."

Emily raises her eyebrows chuckling easily. "Overprotective much, Jayje?"

"Mom, I really just wanna go."

"Shut it and give me a minute, your Aunt Savannah taught me how to do this. Don't hold your breath or try to trick me, let me concentrate." Her daughter sighs rolling her eyes allowing JJ to take her pulse. Callie figures it's sometimes way easier to just let her parents do what they want rather than fight them on random crap. JJ nods. "Okay, I think I've got this. Wow your pulse is fast." The mother glances at Callie who shrugs; she's a tiny bit nervous about the amount of trouble she'll be in when they find out.

Her daughter responded. "That's cause some crazy lady is checking it." Callie can tell Emily is confused and decides to fill her in. "Mom's only acting weird cause I didn't eat a lot and my heart's bad, well it was, not too sure about right now. I think it's probably fine." Concern flashes through JJ's eyes causing the teen to purse her lips together unsurely. That was so the wrong thing to say. "I mean, it's probably all good, I just gotta take my meds and I do, but my mom still gets all crazy weird about that kind of stuff."

"Weird, worried – same difference really." JJ answered rolling her eyes. "Oh and the stuff she's referring to is having a balanced diet and she doesn't. I'm not saying vegetarians can't have a balanced diet, but Callie here should make attempts to improve hers a little bit. That's why we give her protein supplements."

The blonde teenager informed. "I love fish and sometimes I eat chicken…I just think lamb is gross and steak could come from anywhere on a cow like what if you're eating a cow's butt?"

"A valid point you make there little Jareau." Emily remarked just as they hear a loud shriek.

April's shrill voice echoes throughout the rink. "Oh my God! My shoes! They're ruined." It seems as though every person in the skate rink's eyes suddenly and rather abruptly fall on them. Kayla's dark eyes become enveloped in vengeance while Grace, Zac, Wyatt, and Mason share looks of hesitance. Aviva glances at Alex who does his best not to snicker at April's misfortune and his excellent prank. Callie makes the mistake of snorting at the sight of her mustard-ketchup encrusted sneakers.

"Are you kidding me right now?" JJ rubs her brow. Maybe they should've grounded Callie, because it seems like whenever she and her friends get together; trouble erupts like a volcano. Honestly, JJ is getting fed up and running out of punishments. "I thought I specifically told you no pranks, young lady." The mother stated sternly.

"B-But, it wasn't me. I was here the whole time." Callie complained understanding where her mother is coming from, but partially annoyed that JJ isn't using her common sense here. The teen can practically feel the injustice radiating off her skin. This was Alex and Aviva's doing, not hers.

Spencer shoots Alex a look causing the boy's cheeks to redden and for him to bite his lip. "Your accomplice was under the bleachers. I told you to tell your friends not to pull any pranks."

"I did – or I was going to, but I got distracted and forgot." Her cheeks redden. He has a point there.

Her friend is quick to defend himself causing Callie to shoot him a look after. "See, it's not technically my fault cause Callie didn't tell me to call it off."

"It's still partially your fault." Emily and JJ remarked looking at one another in impressed confusion before turning their attentions back onto the blushing teenagers.

Alex manages to compose himself first. "Are you gonna call my dad, ma'am?" He just got off the phone with him and the dude already sounded annoyed about something. Alex guesses he doesn't like his new assignment at the prison. If Mrs. LaMontange calls Frank then Alex knows without a doubt that he'll definitely be sleeping in the basement tonight, there's no doubt about it.

"No." JJ sighs ignoring the strange look she receives from Emily. "You're going to help Callie clean out the garage all of next week and if you two finish early, we'll find something else for you guys to do. Is that understood?"

"Yes ma'am." Alex answered making sure to sound respectful.

The mother dismisses her daughter's friend. "Good, now Callie, get your skates off. Right now," her order is firm to the point of being harsh. Callie considers a smart remark, but decides against it as she plops down to take her rented skates off. She fumbles to do as she's told and barely has on her sneakers before JJ is tugging at her arm to yank her along. "Let's talk in private." She takes her daughter's upper arm beginning to lead her away.

"I uh I think I wanna stay out here, where there are…you know witnesses." Callie swallows nervously.

JJ grins coolly, nodding. "Oh really? That's a shame. Em, can you watch Michael for me?" She steers her daughter away without even bothering to look back. The mom makes the mistake of glancing down at Callie to see the teenager is half-smiling slightly. "Don't you dare try that smile on me right now, this isn't funny. You can't think on any level this is okay." Callie tries not to look amused. "We're taking money from your allowance to pay for the new shoes, April is going to buy." Her daughter's mouth falls open angrily and she immediately starts to profess her innocence. "I don't want to hear it. I gave you a pass last night, but that was obviously a mistake."

"Scottie?" A familiar voice questioned causing the teenager to stop dead in her tracks. She never thought in a million years she'd hear Jenna again. She turns with wide eyes. Jenna was one of her favorite moms. The woman walks over to her holding hands with a caramel skinned girl. "You really grew up on me, didn't you? Look at you, you're so big." Jenna smiles down at Callie. Her attention refocuses onto a confused JJ. "Oh I'm sorry; this must seem weird. I'm Jenna McCall; I was Callie's foster mother when she was younger. Oh you were so small and look at you now. You really grew up on me." She turns to JJ in amusement. "We had her from when she was seven to nine…she was youngest girl in our house." JJ nods, bewitched into hearing stories from when Callie was young. It really is an amazing stroke of luck. Jenna sighs. "I always felt bad that the agency put her with us. I mean, the girls we had were so much older. They looked out for her, they all loved little Callie Scott. They called her Scottie."

"Scottie?" JJ questioned no one in particular.

"There was always a Carrie there, it got confusing." Callie put in. "Jenna, this is my…mom JJ."

Jenna's face dimples into an even wider smile. "Pete is going to love hearing I saw you. He and Scottie kicked the ball around in the front yard." The girl tugs on Jenna's arm impatiently causing a flash of maternal annoyance to crease Jenna's face. "Hang on a minute, oh right, I'm sorry; this is my foster daughter Elena." Jenna said as the nine year old mumbles a quick hello. "All right fine, go find Piper. Go on get lost." The foster parent gives in as Elena wobbles off on her skates. "Sorry about that, but Elena's never gone skating before. She's excited." There's been something Callie has wanted to know for quite some time, she rubs her ear feeling worriedly making Jenna laugh outright. "You still do that when you're nervous, I see. Well, go on; ask me what you think I don't want to know."

JJ is a bit amazed Jenna can read Callie so well. She presumes that happens when you've been fostering children for as long as they have, but still, Jenna would make a pretty decent profiler. Callie swallows licking her lips and glancing slightly at JJ for strength. "Why'd you make me leave?" The teenager asked sounding much younger than she is and that question alone causes both mother's to share looks of the trade with one another.

"Oh honey, we didn't want you to go. The state decided you weren't safe in a home with teenage girls who had been sent to us because they had behavioral issues." Jenna explained softly. "Out of all the girls that came to us, you were our favorite." Callie smirked. "You made Pete and I realize we wanted to foster young children. We love every child that came through our door, but after you left; we decided not to house any more girls. Anyway, it was easier to not house anymore after our children were born."

Callie remembers Jenna and Pete have a daughter before, but she died of cancer. "You had more kids?"

"Yeah," Jenna offers a warm smile. "Scott and Lily, they're five and three. Elena came to us about four months ago and Piper came shortly after. Elena's nine and Piper's sixteen. We've limited the amount of kids we take in. I really must've been crazy to house six girls and work at the same time." She mused more to herself; she and Pete are both architects for some hot shot firm. "Or maybe those yoga classes really did relax my mind."

"Scott? You named him after me." The blonde teenager is all smirks as JJ rolls her eyes. Great, just what she needs for Callie to get an even bigger head than she already has.

"Having you around helped mend our family. We didn't think we could have any more kids after…uh well we were lost and you helped us find each other." Jenna shows both Callie and JJ pictures of their family; every single person has real genuine grins and they look honestly happy. JJ can't help relishing at the fact that Callie was treated kindly in this home. Jenna takes the phone back. "Pete wanted to name Scott, Carl because Caroline starts with Car, but that would've put a target on his back. No offence of anything."

Callie shrugged. "None taken, the name Carl does kind of suck."

"You think that's rough, my Will wanted to name our youngest Albert." JJ chuckles at Jenna's cringe. "Yeah, that's the same face I made. We went with Michael James; it's a family name so it worked."

"Your youngest so you have more?"

"Just our other son Henry, he's seven."

Jenna nods. "Oh that's a fun age, but be careful some kids like to bring snakes in for show-and-tell."

"You brought a snake to school?" JJ's eyes are wide. God, now she wishes she had been there while Callie was growing up. She can just bet her daughter was a spitfire as a tyke – always causing a whole mess of trouble and leaving a trail of chaotic destruction behind her.

"I thought Ms. Taylor would like it." Callie does her best not to smirk. Ms. Taylor was a huge bitch; she assumed the worst of Callie because she was a foster kid. She also made the entire class aware of that detail too.

"She liked it so much she fainted from excitement…and fear. Callie was promptly switched into another class." Her former foster parent shakes her head. The kind of grief Callie caused was always interesting, if not amusing, but definitely tiring at the time. "I often wondered if she was a trouble-magnet or evil genius."

JJ agreed. "I wonder the same thing most days."

"Well, I better go make sure the girls are okay. It really was good to see you again, Scott…I uh I mean Callie. I'm sorry about that; old habits. You really did grow into a beautiful young lady." Jenna said shaking her former foster daughter's hand with a sense of ease enveloping in her chest. She has had sleepless nights wondering where old children in her care are now and Callie's face definitely haunted them more so…but Pete will be glad to hear their old little girl is doing just fine. It'll ease his nightmares a bit too.

"You too, Jenna," the fourteen year old responded. She smiles easily and turns to her mom. "Mom, can I please go back now? I swear I didn't do it. I guess I should've told Alex not to either, but I forgot." JJ can tell Callie is trying and she understands both sides of the story. But, she has to be a mom here.

"All right fine, but no more pranks. I mean it this time, Caroline." JJ wags a finger at her kid who nods. She had planned on calling off the prank and the prank was for Kayla, not April. Callie turns starting to head back into the rink, when JJ yanks her back some. "Oh, sweetie, look like I just lectured you." Callie raises her eyebrows. "This is not me letting you off the hook; this is me avoiding even more drama we'd have if you looked smug. Don't forget you and Alex are cleaning the garage next week and…and apologize to April. I don't want to hear any backchat, hon, just do it or you're my new shadow today."

Callie nods reluctantly. "Yes ma'am."

"Now go." JJ nods at the horrified result and turns back to an amused Jenna. "That seemed to work this time."

Jenna nods. "It definitely did. I remember saying that to a few of the girls I had too. It was just as fun – you've given me something to look forward to saying it to the kids in a few years."

"Why don't we exchange our information? That way, I could…you could possibly send me some pictures of Callie when she was younger – if you have any, I mean." The blonde profiler can feel herself stumbling over her words, but this is something she's wanted for months and months.

"If I have any? Oh honey, I have several albums worth of pictures of my girls." Jenna vowed. Throughout her and Pete's marriage and including Piper and Elena; they've had twelve girls at their residence. And they've made photo albums for all of them to send to the girls when they age out. Thus far, they've sent nine of the twelve. Pete is pushing for them to house boys now; he wants to have more testosterone in the house. Jenna opens up her purse to take out a pad and pen. "Here, let me give you my email to give you them and maybe we can get together for drinks sometime. My husband and I are both architects and we have four kids so our schedules are…crazy, but we could try to make plans."

JJ responded. "Ours are too," she can see the silhouette of Callie sitting on the bleachers beside Emily as though being punished for having participated in said prank. "It was nice to meet you, Jenna and thank you...thank you for taking good care of my daughter."


	20. Have a Little Faith in Me

Hey guys, I know this has been slow-going at times, but I have loved writing this fanfic and am proud of it and I want to thank you guys for sticking with me in times of writer's block and school stress. Again, thank you and I wish you all the best. This takes place at the episode, The Storm (the final episode of Season 11). I am going to continue this story actually taking place a few months later for Season 12.

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Chapter 20- Have A Little Faith in Me

* * *

"I thought there'd be more…I'm not upset. I just thought there'd be more hoops and crap."

"We did too, but since your mama has full custody all she needed ta do was sign this in front of a judge basically givin' me permission to adopt yah as my own." Will explained and smiles over his cup of coffee. "After that it was just a matter of me signing it and them getting around to sending us a new birth certificate." There has to be some other way of receiving those things – least they get sent in thick manila envelopes. "And everything else like ah…a transcript of the court proceedings and the adoption papers finalized and formal-looking."

Henry stands on his tippy-toes peering at the birth certificate. "Do I have one of those?"

"Course yah do, everyone does. Callie just got hers a little retouched." His dad ruffles his short locks, Callie frowns. Henry looks older now and for some reason that makes Callie sad.

"Does this mean you're her daddy too now?" Henry is full of questions today.

"Legally…" Henry raises his eyebrows. "Yeah, Champ, it does." Will said noticing his daughter's cheeks flush nervously. Henry, seeming content with his parent's responses returns to munching on his cereal. JJ shifts a pouting Michael in her arms and then decides to make sure Henry doesn't eat too much of the sugary cereal, giving the father and daughter a minute. "Yah know, Trouble, just cause I adopted yah. I don't want yah to feel any pressure to call me dad. You can do that when you're ready to all right? Yah don't even hafta do it none, if it makes yah feel funny."

She vowed softly. "I will. I just need a minute to – breathe a second." Her dad, the most understanding man on planet Earth, nods. "Okay, I've gotta eat fast. Sean's going to pick me up in like ten minutes." Callie isn't trying to hurt Will's feelings; she just isn't ready to call him dad. She needs a minute to control the excitement that's bursting. She has a family, a solid family. Like the ones in those cheesy ass Hallmark movies. Before she had no one except Ben and now Callie has a whole cluster of people, including Ben but that goes without saying.

"Ah yeah, your mama and I need ta talk to you about that Troublemaker." Will responded wishing he didn't have to ruin this good moment they're having but he and Cher spoke about that last night. He steers the suddenly nervous teenager into the kitchen. "Yah see the thing is…"

* * *

Callie leans against the wall texting Aviva, sighing loudly in frustration until she finally looks up from her I-Phone. "Why can't I go with Sean? He's my boyfriend." She complained huffily. JJ rubs her brow. She likes Sean, but he driving her little girl to school on a motorcycle is not something she likes thinking about.

"Because…it rained last night and the roads are slippery." The mother isn't in the mood for this.

"Then why can't I just go with Viva's sister?" Callie does her best to keep the whine out of her voice. It isn't fair being stuck with her family all the time. Now it wouldn't be so bad if Meg was around, but she's always busy making kissy-face at Ben and Kayla's just a bitch. These days Callie rarely if ever sees her friends, with the school year winding down in these last few weeks; everyone is hunting for summer jobs.

JJ answered sternly. "Look, my car is in the shop and your dad needed his to help Jared. So, Hotch offered to give us a ride which is very nice of him because your school is out of the way and you'll tell him thank-you." Callie rolls her eyes holding onto Henry's backpack while her little brother fishes out the comic he wants to show Jack. Henry easily finds what he's looking for and silently turns away 'letting' Callie hold onto his pack in the process.

"If my school's so 'out of the way' then it makes more sense for Maggie to drive."

"Watch the tone sweets. Hey remember our talk this before? Your dad and I don't want our fourteen year old in a car with someone who got a speeding ticket and has only been on the road for a few months. We're done talking about this, Caroline Emily." These past few days, Will's been helping Jared move into his home leaving JJ to deal with two cranky kids. Luckily, her husband has the sense to take Michael to daycare on his way to Jared's.

"I'll be fifteen in like a month." The teenager reasoned.

JJ struggles to keep her temper at bay. "That's so not the point I'm trying to make." She rings the doorbell to Hotch's apartment smiling when her boss opens the door.

"Good morning." He greets them a little out of breath, but not at the same time.

"Hi," JJ practically yanks a reluctant Callie into the apartment shooting her a look as she does so.

Henry walks on inside, excited to show Jack the comics he has. Another annoying thing about being in this family, Callie notices, is that there's nobody her age to level with about crap. Okay, Meg is the exception and Kayla…well Kayla sucks. But, Meg's not around so much with Kate and Chris being busy; getting together has fell through the cracks. Jack bounds over to them. JJ can't help marveling at the fact that Callie and Jack are practically the same height and there's a four year age-gap between them. This is concerning because both she and Robert are tall and even their respective children are average if not lanky in the height requirement. _So how in the hell is their daughter such a tiny kid?_ JJ makes a mental note to phone Callie's pediatrician and ask about whether hypertrophic cardiomyopathy could be linked to height or lack thereof.

"Did you bring the comics?" Jack barely regards Callie who doesn't even acknowledge the fifth grader as she's too busy texting in the group message. Everyone wants to sneak out to the spot sometime this weekend, but Belle isn't sure she can make it because of the publicity she's been getting used to having little twin siblings.

"Yeah, the new one comes out today." Henry said eagerly.

"I been waiting forever for it." The older boy murmured leading his surrogate cousin to the table.

JJ responded. "I really appreciate you giving us a drive again." The blonde nudges her daughter. "We all do."

"Yeah, thanks." Callie said keeping her tone even. JJ, believing the girl is being facetious tosses her a warning look to watch it. "What?" She rolls her eyes. Her parents blame her for everything that goes wrong; like she can control what Michael shoves up his nose. "What'd I do wrong now?"

"Sure absolutely, anytime;" Aaron said smiling unsurely at the pair.

"Callie, just–" the mother began and then decides to refocus her very cranky daughter. She motions to the boys who are too consumed by Wolverine to mind them. "Help, Jack, get ready."

Deciding she wants to go out this weekend, Callie obeys. "Where's your lunch?" The fifth grader helps Callie shove his lunch into the backpack. "Hey, is that Night Hawke guy right?" Jack nods while Henry readjusts his glasses to get a better look. He's not a huge fan of wearing them on account of believing he looks like a dork and cause Callie called him a hipster in her teasing voice. The teenager spots a folder perched on the table. "Do you need your ah math folder today?" Jack shrugs. "Ugh, how can you not know?" At his hurt face, Callie sighs regretting her tone; it isn't Jack's fault her parents are annoyingly overprotective. He'll find that out soon enough with his dad anyway. "Why don't you bring it anyway? Just to be safe. All right Jacko; is that it?" The boy nods with a ghost of a smile etching its way onto his cherubic little face.

JJ raises her eyebrows playfully. "Ah, you aren't going to bring comics to school right?"

Without much warning or any at all, the doors bursts open to men wearing protective suits. Aaron is quick to pull out his retrieved gun and announce his FBI status. Callie's eyes widen in fear, she's never seen this many people wielding guns before. Of course Mr. Dalton had a gun collection, but he was Southern hick. There's a difference. And he never pointed his gun at anything that wasn't a deer or some other kind of animal.

The men yell at Hotch while JJ assessing the situation stands protectively in front of the kids. Callie looks up at her mother and then at the boys, they're really scared. And Callie knows she should be too, but the feeling is becoming a distant memory as she takes in how frightened her baby brother and surrogate cousin are. She slips her hand into Jack's giving his a comforting squeeze to let him know everything is okay. Bug and Tasha used to do that when she was scared and it always made her feel a lot safer. They were able to shield Callie from the fearful reality that was their life.

"Hotch," the blonde profiler said catching his eyes so she can remind him there are children present; two of whom are her children and she doesn't feel comfortable with them being around guns.

"This is a mistake." Hotch attempts to talk to the SWAT men like they're on the same level. Maybe if he can explain what happened or they can talk it out they can avoid traumatizing three children.

Jack stuttered. "D-Daddy, what's going on?"

"It's okay Jack." Aaron recognizes the fear etching its way into his son's tone and cringes.

The SWAT team leader is direct. "On your knees, hands behind your back." He has to ignore the fact that there are young children present. He has to ignore the fact that he has four kids near their age. He has to do his job and pretend their frightened little faces aren't going to be seared into his mind.

"Is this really necessary?" Aaron's eyes fall on the kids, specifically Jack. The father in him knows that this incident is going to leave a scar on Jack. He was barely four when Haley died and doesn't really remember how that affair went down, but he's nearly eleven now, this – seeing his father get arrested – is one thing he's never going to forget. And it breaks Aaron's heart.

"Now!" The leader barked.

"Daddy," Jack tries not to let his tears fall. Callie puts a hand on his shoulder while JJ is standing protectively with her arm around all of them, just like the mama bear she is.

Hotch glances at his son. "It's okay Jack, it's a big mistake and everything's going to be all right."

"Dad!" the poor kid wants so desperately to rush over to his dad . None of this is fair, first his mom dies and now his dad is going away too. Jack is at a loss. And Aunt Jessica has moved from Virginia to Palm Beach with her new boyfriend and his kids and Grandpa Roy lives at nursing home. There isn't any other family left; it's just him and his dad, together.

There's a pregnant silence that lingers as JJ straps Michael into his car seat. Henry plops down in the seat behind the driver, his nose stuck in a comic book. He's being quiet or maybe that's his way of understanding the seriousness of the situation. Callie climbs into the passenger side wishing she knew the right words to say. Her mom is saying the right stuff but only Henry seems to be biting and Jack is refusing to talk. Well, he sort of is, but that's just one-worded responses. It's a quiet ride to the FBI, no matter how much JJ tries. Callie remembers behaving like Jack did in overwhelming situations. She went quiet and tried to make sense of the world and in some cases that worked like a charm, but in most; it just made her retreat more inwards. The world was always just so loud.

JJ turns down the radio. Callie thought it'd be a good idea to have it at a soft hum, but she wants to make sure the fifth grader hears her properly. "Hey Jack," he meets her gaze in the mirror. "This is all a misunderstanding like your dad said." Jack doesn't look convinced. "Everything's going to be okay honey." With that, JJ turns onto another street about two miles from the FBI. She hears a disgruntled cry from Michael in the backseat and Henry softly shushing his little brother. JJ decided not to send any of her kids to school and she picked Michael up from daycare too. To say Michael was shocked is the biggest understatement. He had a full blown tantrum. This is his routine these people are messing with. Michael is a baby of routine. So now the youngest LaMontange is fussy and deciding to punish anyone around who he has deemed at fault; in a sense, everyone.

Callie glances at Jack. He's in the backseat by himself looking so lost. Henry and Michael got the middle row and Jack got the backseat to himself. Deciding to see if she can help him one last time, Callie unclips her seatbelt taking her phone with her as she wriggles into the backseat.

"What are you doing?" JJ questioned.

"I want to sit back here, mom." Callie gives her a pleading look and JJ relents. Her mom's eyes flicker back onto the road while Henry shrugs turning back to his comic. Jack eyes her curiously doing his best to keep his face even though. Callie keeps her voice low, so only the ten year old can hear her. "Never tell my mom this, but she's right. Everything's gonna work out. It has a way of doing that kind of shit." That still doesn't even get a small smile. "Hey Jack, do you think when we get upstairs that you could show me that cool magic trick Uncle Spencer showed you? I keep messing up on it and you're like a master magician aren't you?"

Jack purses his lips before shrugging quietly. "I don't feel like it right now."

"Oh yeah sure, maybe later then," Jack shrugs. The teenager runs a hand through her blonde curls trying to think of something that will help. An idea or rather a memory bursts into her head. "You wanna see my yearbook?" This distraction gains Jack and JJ's attention. The latter had no idea Callie even got her yearbook yet or how long she's had it in that chaotic mess she calls a backpack. She shoots her kid a look. Callie smiles apologetically, she honestly forgot about it. Her friends signed it and junk, but she never thought about emptying it because she thought more people might want to sign it later on. And also, she's forgetful and once she's home; she drops that backpack like a hot tomato. "Here, look at the faces some of the seniors made." She flips to their section.

"Why'd they do that?" Jack wondered. "My dad wouldn't have liked that."

"Well, because…see, they have two pictures; one is their school photo for their I.D. and the other is the one they get done professionally or one they think is better and send in. The yearbook staff puts in both because they're funny to look at. I don't know if our new principal will let them do that next year though." Callie commented as Jack stifles a snicker at one picture meanwhile Henry cranes his head to look and bursts out laughing.

The fifth grader giggles slightly. "I can't believe they pull such weird faces."

"Yeah, hey, I think Jude Hollander made a super weird face." Callie said as she flips back a few pages in search of the legendary Jude. "Oh right, he went cross-eyed. That always hurts my eyes when I try." The mini-Jareau puts on an easy smile at Jack's quiet snicker.

Jack hasn't said much since they exited the car. They met Will and Michael in the parking garage. The Louisiana-born had been trying not to appear worried. Callie can tell he's putting on a brave face for them. She guesses he sent Natalie home. Her gaze lingers on a sullenly silent Jack who drags his feet from the garage and in through the lobby, Henry was chattering away about how cool it was to miss school. Their parents gave half-hearted, distracted responses to his excited sentiments. Just as Henry starts to pick up that something is going on, they're led into a conference room.

Spencer greets them first. "Hey guys," he smiles forcefully. It reminds Callie of the smile Mr. Grant Borden gave her before Tanya came; sad and forced all at once. He had wanted to keep her, Callie remembers. But, Mrs. Shelby Borden got sick and died and the state didn't think it proper to let a man keep a girl so they took her away. Even though, he never did anything to her; they just took Callie away. That was the year Tanya became her case worker.

"Hi Uncle Spencer," Henry goes over to him.

"Ooh hello," the uncle hugs his godson lifting him up to twirl him around. "How're you doing Henry?" He may be asking the seven year old that, but his eyes fall on Callie and Jack who shrug in kind.

Henry responded. "Good everyone's gonna hang out at mom's work today." As mature as her brother is and he is very mature for his age, Callie knows he doesn't understand. Yes, Henry may not get into as much trouble as her, but he's still a little kid when it comes right down to it.

"Aww, that sounds super fun." Penelope squeaked as Jack resists the urge to call them out. He likes going to his dad's work, but this is ridiculous. There's stuff going on that no one is telling him cause they think he's a little kid. Callie has to know what's going on though, she's almost big enough to drive. He'll have to ask her later when there aren't any more grown-ups lurking around.

"You're shitting me right?" Her teenager goddaughter mumbled. Due to her being closer to Garcia, the techie pinches Callie warningly and glances at Jack. This makes Callie's defiant demeanor disappear. She lowers her voice. "What's going on Auntie P? I'm not stupid. I know something is going on." Garcia shares a look with Will which doesn't go unnoticed by the former foster kid.

Penelope said. "Your parent's decided it'd be fun for you kids to visit your mom today." The aunt is doing her best to appease the youngsters while also giving a sufficient answer to the teen.

"Bullshit." Unfortunately, Callie isn't by any means stupid. She can tell when someone is giving her the run around and right now all the adults in her life are. The blonde teenage LaMontange folds her arms across her chest appearing rightfully annoyed with this predicament.

"Don't do this in front of the younger ones, Cupcake."

Spencer pulls apart from Henry to address a sullen Jack. "Have you been practicing that magic trick I taught you Jack?" Reid asked as he offers the clearly traumatized boy n a grin in the hopes that maybe, just maybe, this might lull him out of his shaken reality.

Jack's shoulders slump. He looks up at JJ. "Can I just go to my dad's office?"

"Yeah of course," JJ glances at Will. He had to leave Jared's early, but that wasn't before he sent some units over to his cousin's place. They have to cover all of their bases after all.

"Come on fella's; let's go find something to get into." Will gets the message. The boys follow after him, but his eldest child lingers as though hoping that if she stays behind none of them will notice. Shifting Michael in his arms, he motions for her to come along. "Hey Callie, let's go."

JJ rubs her daughter's arms soothingly. "Callie, go with your dad sweets."

"Mom, please tell me what's going on? Why aren't we going to school? This morning was nuts, but usually I hafta go to school even if I'm bleeding internally." JJ squints at the dramatics; she's not in the mood for them right now. Callie senses this. "I-I just wanna know why you guys look so scared. Does what happened hafta do with a case?" JJ makes the mistake of glancing away giving her clever daughter the answer without saying as much. Callie deduced. "It does, doesn't it?"

"That's enough. I love you so I'm saying this because I do, but you aren't old enough. Not for this and that may not seem fair right now, but that's how this is going to go. What's happening is…I don't want you to worry about it; we're going to fix it. Look, it's my job as your mom to keep you safe and make sure you feel safe too. I-I can't tell you about any case because then you won't feel safe anymore and I don't want for you to feel that way. Do you understand?" In return her daughter hangs her head, dismayed at being kept out of the loop. "Baby it'd ease a lot of stress if you could help dad with the boys today okay?" A part of JJ is saying this to distract Callie, but a larger part recognizes that her kid wants to help and is giving her the opportunity to do just that.

For a moment, Callie considers arguing. She would've talked back months ago, but looking into her mother's tired eyes the girl takes pity and decides to take the road less traveled. "Sure I can distract them, no problem." She shrugs easily and flashes a grin. "I mean if I'm being honest; I had this math test I wasn't in any way ready for so missing school is great–" JJ wraps her arms around the teen pulling a confused Callie in for a tight hug. "And we're hugging, why are we hugging?"

JJ pulls apart so she can take Callie's face in her hands. She never realized how much Callie has grown since being with them. She's changed from the punk who knocked on their door demanding a signature. Before, she could've cared less and now it seems, she cares about them more than anything. JJ grinned. "Do you know how much I love you?" Her mother asked in awe. "I love you to the moon and back one hundred times over, Callie LaMontange." They had her name changed ages ago and yet it still sounds new to Callie, like she doesn't deserve the title of being a LaMontange.

"Love you too." Callie answered. She rubs the back of her neck guiltily. "Uh, Henry and Jack are still gonna be scared no matter what I do." The teenager only knows this because at this moment, she's scared and no matter how much she's trying to distract herself; she still feels anxious.

"They might be, but that's okay. I know they're scared." JJ studies her kid looking into those blue eyes and recognizing a spark of fear as well. "You want to know what else I know." Callie looks up at her. "I know you're scared too and it's okay to be scared and say that you are. Your dad, uncles, aunts, and I are scared too, but we're going to fix this. But, for now we need for you kids to hang back and let us handle it all right?"

"Yes ma'am…mom," her voice is soft. "Make whoever did this to Uncle Aaron pay."

JJ gives her a nod. "Oh sweets, we will." She watches Callie wander out of the conference room and towards the guys who all laugh at something she's saying. Smiling slightly, JJ frowns wishing she could savor them but unfortunately her phone buzzes. She answers it, hoping its Hotch to tell her he's been cleared of all charges. It's not. "Hey Rob, yeah she's safe. No, you don't need to worry about it. Will and I aren't going to let her out of the FBI building. I'll have her call you okay? I've ordered a protective detail be on you and your family. Yeah, well they can drive to Pennsylvania then. I don't think you guys are in danger, but I do want to be extra safe you know? I will too. All right, bye." She hangs up and turns heading back to work.

The minute Callie slips through the door and slides down beside Jack. He looks up at her to whisper secretly. "Did they tell you what's going on?" He knows Will wouldn't want them talking about this, especially not in front of Henry or Michael. Luckily, Will's too preoccupied with Michael to pay them much mind. Henry meanwhile is currently invested in his PSP.

"No," Callie sighed. "I don't think they plan on telling us squat." Oddly enough, Callie is sort of okay with that; at least this way she can relax and not worry. Her mom will figure it out and that's fine with her. But, she can see how Jack might not take to that. If she were in his shoes, Callie's certain she wouldn't be as chilled out.

"Why not? It's my dad. This isn't fair." Jack tries not to cry. His dad is always strong so he has to be too. It just isn't fair, life has not been fair. Sometimes, he wishes his dad had a normal job like all of his friend's parents. Then this stuff wouldn't happen. But, his dad wouldn't be a hero. Jack considers him a hero among men, but...it's hard having Superman for a dad. "My dad's gonna be in jail now, like in Prison Break, except he won't try to escape cause he always follows the rules all the time and they're gonna cut off his toe."

Callie leans against the wall chuckling at the younger boy. "How're you able to watch that?"

Jack responded. "Aunt Jessica has Netflix." The blonde teenager resists the urge to grin. Then her surrogate cousin says something that leaves Callie sufficiently stunned. "I don't think I can forgive my dad for this."

The day goes by all in a blur. For the most part, they hang out waiting around until their respective parents to return. Will speaks with Penelope about everything leaving Callie in charge. He fails to notice the fire stewing inside of Jack Hotchner, nor does he realize just how much he's been relying on Callie today. Well, he sort of does, but in the midst of all this chaos; having Callie help out some is a thing he expects. The dad gets how it ain't right relying so much on an almost fifteen year old little girl, but what other choice does he have? He has to keep his emotions in check for the kids and also somehow keep them from finding out what's going on; it's a very exhausting task to say the least. And to make matters worse, Michael's in an uproar because his schedule out of whack.

Callie balances Michael on her hip expertly as she goes over to her adoptive father. "Hey so, I changed Mike and I fed him a pouch. I think his new favorite is the kale one."

"Thanks, Cal." Will commented ruffling her wild blonde curls. "You've been a real big help today."

"It was nothing. I mean, what else was I gonna do around here?" Her light joke causes Will to chuckle softly.

Will sits down gravely. "I put too much on you today, Trouble." He said as Callie starts to protest, but he ignores her to put Mike in the stroller. "I did. Yah know I did and there's no excuse. Sure there are plenty I could use, but it wouldn't be fair to try em' on yah. I think we let ourselves forget you're still a kid on account of you occasionally actin' like a grown up. That ain't right. We shouldn't expect yah to act like an adult in certain instances then treat you like a child when yah try to act how we wanted yah to before."

"Hey, I'm not really a kid so it's okay." Callie's never lived with adults who have ever apologized for their actions before. She's been in mostly good homes, but adults just don't apologize. Of course, they expect the kid to but it's like when you become a parent; you become immune to the word.

"No it ain't okay. You're our kid and it's our job to make sure you get to be one for as long as yah can. Yah gotta understand Callie; we do the best we can, for you kids. We try our damn near hardest every day. It's important to us that you and your brothers grow up differently than how we did." He had an adequate upbringing with parents who loved him but they were very Southern about how they loved him. "Your mama and I are gonna have some words about that later though."

Callie purses her lips nodding. "If yah say so," she shrugs and begins to depart only to stop and turn to give her dad an especially cheeky grin. "You know, honestly, today he's been like maybe the best birth control ever." She only did it because he was screaming and Anderson promised ten dollars if she got him to quiet down.

"Hmm," Will hummed rocking Michael in his stroller. The tyke looks ready to pass out. Callie heads back upstairs to Hotch's office where Henry has fallen asleep and Jack is drawing. Rather abruptly, the teen's words register with Will. "Wait what'd yah say little lady? I don't wanna hear 'birth control' come out of your mouth until you're thirty." His threat is meaningless and it does bring a small smile to the girl's face. He looks down at Mike. "Maybe even forty," he muttered. "If mama and I have another one, Mike, I hope it's a boy. I don't think I can take another little girl. Your big sissy's given me enough gray hairs as is. Don't get me wrong, I'd love another little lady but I don't think I can take another daredevil." The boy looks up at him with tired, understanding eyes. Michael doesn't want another sibling either, he's the youngest and it's going to stay that way.

Looking down at her kid brother, Callie runs a soothing hand through his hair when he stirs. She can recall a time when having younger siblings would've seemed unimaginable to her. But, looking into the seven year olds face, Callie wouldn't have it any other way. This is her little brother. At the door creaking open, Callie's eyes are forced upward to where her mother and Uncle Aaron are. They each go to their respective kids. Callie feels JJ gently stroke her cheek, but her eyes stay on Hotch as he goes over to his son.

"Hey," the father addressed his son. Jack doesn't seem to be giving him the time of day; his eyes are staying glued onto his drawing. This is partially Jack punishing his father and partially due to being emotionally worn out. Hotch swallows nervously and repeated. "Hey."

"Hey," Jack responded in a dejected tone. JJ sees Callie observing them and silently redirects the girl with a kiss to her temple. Callie looks up at her mother who goes to wake Henry up.

Hotch asked casually. "Whatcha doing?"

"Drawing."

This is the first time; Callie has ever seen Aaron so rankled. "Can I take a look?"

"No," the fifth grader puts it in his folder and backpack. There's a lingering question dancing in the back of his mind and Jack has to ask this. "Are you okay?" He does love his father, but the image of a gun pointed at him is something that's going to stay burned in his mind.

"Yeah I'm okay, how about you?" Hotch puts on his profiler cap and goes to work profiling his son for any signs of serious distress or mental disfigurement. All he sees, though, is a disinterested ten year old who seems fed up.

"I'm fine." He lied easily.

JJ whispered. "Hey buddy, come here." She re-positions her eldest son who grumbles at her. He's had a long day doing a scavenger hunt with Anderson and mastering magic tricks. Callie's been too busy trying to cheer up Jack and helping out with a cranky Michael. Henry's never really seen his big sister not doing something to get in trouble before. Well he has, but she was really good today, better than usual. "Let's go sweets." The mom encouraged her daughter who rises to her feet.

"You ready to go?" Hotch asked feeling somewhat awkward about being alone with Jack. It's like something has changed in their relationship, before the SWAT team incident it was them against the world. Now it feels as though Jack has put a wall up of sorts, wanting to keep a healthy distance.

"Sure," his son responded. There it is again with the one-worded answers. Aaron hopes this doesn't last long; he wants to ensure his little boy won't be too scathed at this. In the end, Jack is the only thing that matters.

* * *

No one ever tells you that when you cram four people into one bed that it gets really sweaty, the idea itself is nice and sweet but the actual execution is another story entirely. Henry kicks when he sleeps, Will snores, and JJ rolls around when she sleeps. But, in some weird twisted way, it's not terrible. Callie's shared beds with foster sisters before except this is different. This is her family. Luckily, Michael's in his crib beside them. JJ and Will decided on using the crib intended for traveling use only. At least, he gets to sleep peacefully.

The next morning, they spend it together. Will makes his world famous Louisiana waffles. In all honestly it's a quiet day and they're even allowed to skip school again. JJ calls it 'family time' but Callie knows this has more to do with what happened yesterday. She does, however, soak in the day; loving that they're all together. JJ has been working a lot lately and Will has too. Natalie's been around almost every day after school and on occasion, she's stayed overnight. Callie hadn't realized just how much she missed their little family being together. Callie likes spending time with her family, although she'd never admit it. She even didn't object when her parents suggested that they have a big family dinner at Uncle Dave's. The only thing she did object to was being forced into wearing nicer attire. Callie complained when JJ bought them and at the moment, she's sitting on a chair beside her little brother and Jack shifting uncomfortably. It is seriously so much easier to look nice as a guy than it is as a girl. All guys have to do is put on a decent button-up and khaki's and they're all set. For girls they have to do – well a shit ton more.

Callie's pulled out of her thoughts by her Uncle Spencer. His tone is serious to the point of grave. Garcia is plopped on Jack's left in a chair of her own. She's quick to make a comment about her genius coworker "Keep your eyes on him. He's very sneaky with his cards."

"There's nothing sneaky about it, it's merely magic." Reid remarked as he points the cards first at Jack. "I need you to blow on this card, please." He shifts them over to Henry. "You blow," and now it's Callie's turn. "You blow." His niece raises her eyebrows at him skeptically. "It won't work if you don't blow on them." Callie complies regardless of feeling childish about it. Her uncle nods. "And, this is your card." Spencer pulls out the red six of hearts.

Jack shares amused looks with Henry and Callie. "No," the ten year old is all smiles.

"That's not your card?" Spencer blinks sounding genuinely shocked. Callie peers over her uncle's shoulder where her mom and other uncle are watching sharing similar smiles. "Wait, hold on. Okay." Reid said as he raps the deck doing odd overly dramatic movements with his hands. "This," he whips out the red king of diamonds.

"No," Henry and Jack both respond.

"You serious? That's not your card?" The genius sifts through the deck until his eyes fall on Penelope who looks just as aghast if not more so. Usually, Spencer is a whiz when it comes to all things magic related. "Oh," Reid sighs at her as though the answer was obvious and sure enough his hand comes right beside her hair pulling out the red queen of hearts. "Is that your card?" Callie's eyes widen sufficiently surprised as her brother, cousin, and aunt's mouths drops to the ground.

Jack and Henry look at Reid clearly in awe. Garcia is too and honestly Callie is as well. She believes her Uncle Spencer is the smartest person she's ever met. "Oh my, how did you do that?" The techie demanded she had been watching him the entire time and never once did she notice anything that could've been misconstrued as a slight of hand.

JJ continues watching her kids. "Hmm, I had a hard time putting the kids down last night."

"They couldn't sleep." Aaron guessed.

"The other way around," she replied. "Will and I had the kids sleep with us. I didn't want to leave them and we were all exhausted." There's mirth entering JJ's tone. "How are things on your end?"

"You know, fortunately, Jack doesn't remember a lot about Haley's death." Aaron mused feeling grateful that his son doesn't remember much of what happened that fateful day. "He knows the story, but he was young."

"That's a good thing." JJ stated, it's such a good thing Jack was so little. Only at the same time, it's not such a great thing because his memories of Haley are likely few and far between. They have their pictures and home movies, but those are flickers of moments from the past.

Hotch agreed nodding confidently. "It's a very good thing, but he's not going to forget seeing me at gunpoint. I just don't want this job to take anything else away from him."

"Well, maybe it gives him something too. You're his hero, not a pretend hero; a real hero."

"Well, he's growing up. He's not going to feel that way for too much longer." Aaron responded, although by the way Callie looks at JJ; he knows he has longer than he thinks. Everyone knows that as much as Callie loves pushing her mother's buttons; she considers the profiler her hero. That's not to say, Callie doesn't have a special bond with Will; all fathers and daughters do. And Will definitely does take a softer approach with Callie. It truly is amazing how much the family has progressed and become their own special unit in the short eight months Callie has been with them.

JJ chuckled. "Ahh you can worry about that later, just be his dad. Enjoy that." JJ knows deep down that she always loves the job of being mom. There's nothing else in the world that beats it. Her eyes stay on the kids, in particular, Callie who's answering what it appears to be a distressing call. Or perhaps the mom is reading too much into it; her daughter is known to be over dramatic when it comes to her friends. It only takes a brief moment of JJ turning her attention back onto Hotch briefly for Callie to seize the opportunity.

"I'll see yah later, mom." Callie stated as she begins to stride past her causing the mother to frown and yank her back by the collar. The small teenager is stunned by this act, but no one is even more shocked than JJ who manages to keep a tight hold on the squirming fourteen year old.

"And where do you think you're going?" JJ demanded seriously. There's no way Callie can think she has the right to saunter away like that. _Where does that girl get off?_ The mother frowns meanwhile Aaron bites the insides of his cheeks to keep from laughing outright.

"I'm gonna take an Uber to Alex's." Her daughter responded as clear as day. This is why Hotch is thankful he has a son and not a daughter. He would've loved and adored his daughter had he and Haley been blessed enough to have one, but daughters are a lot tougher than sons. With boys, you can take a rougher route whereas girls are much more complicated; little girls are adorable, but teenage girls are deadly.

JJ shakes her head firmly. "I don't think so. We're having family time right now and anyway, I don't want you riding alone with a stranger." She's read the online newspapers; those drivers are not always properly screened.

"Every day is family time." Callie grumbled sounding cranky all of a sudden. JJ never recalls acting out this much with her parents; Danny had been the perfect son, Ross was more of the rebellious type, and JJ was the baby of the family. The profiler had wanted to act out on some occasion, but she had always taken pity on her parents and decided to toe the line. Callie is far too stubborn to even consider going the quiet path.

The mother rubs her brow. "Just get something to eat and pretend to be happy." She ordered as Callie walks off grumbling something about double standards. JJ turns to her boss with a world-weary expression. "See what you have to look forward to? Teenagers, I swear Callie thinks just because she's almost fifteen that she knows everything and I don't understand anything."

"Callie's a good kid."

JJ nods. "I know she is. She's an amazing kid and I thank God every day that she found us. I just wish she'd talk to me more and I know teenagers don't do that. They think they're the only ones who have ever been their age and their parent's don't know anything." The mother's eyes are wistful and a grin dimples her cheeks. "You know, there are times when she let's us in and I cherish those moments because they're few and far between but she scares me when she puts her walls up. Callie thinks she always has to be the martyr or hero."

"She's only trying to sort out her own problems, just like she's seen you and Will do." Hotch said in a feeble attempt to ease his coworker's worries.

"Yeah, that's what scares me." JJ sighed as she goes over to their table. "No one ever tells you that having kids is like wearing another heart on your sleeve."

That in itself is one hundred percent accurate.

* * *

Callie told Will she had period cramps and needed to rest in one of Rossi's many guest rooms for a while. This in itself worked because Will is so awkward when it comes to anything menstrual. He went beet red and started babbling about something or other. This means he likely won't check on her or have anyone else check on her for a few hours.

And when he wasn't looking, Callie swiped one of Uncle Dave's credit cards and went upstairs getting to work on setting up an Uber account. Something about the way Alex spoke was off. Luckily, Henry, Jack, and Michael have long since been put to bed. Or else Callie knows they'd extort her into paying them to keep quiet. Well, Jack's watching some Disney Channel movie while the younger boys sleep. He has been deemed too old to go to bed when they are and some luxuries have been put in place. Personally, Callie thinks Aaron is just trying to butter him up. She climbs out of the second story window feeling an apprehensive knot tighten in her gut. But, she has to do this. There was just something wrong with Alex, she can feel it in her gut. And her gut is never wrong.

The Uber driver is a younger woman, Kimberly. The woman looks maybe a year or so older than Natalie and makes a passing comment about Callie's age, but drives to the destination regardless. Upon being let out, Callie bids her farewell and scampers away before Kimberly can say anything in return. Alex's house looks even scarier at night. And darker too, all the lights are off. For a moment, Callie considers calling another Uber and insisting she get driven back to Rossi's, but she clambers up the porch steps.

"Alex," Callie called walking into his house. "What's going on? You sounded weird before. If this is some kind of joke then it isn't funny, I had to sneak out to get over here and use my uncle's credit card on my Uber account. It was a free first ride, but still, if they find out I ditched then I'll be so dead…" Callie's breathe catches at the sight of Jade on the floor with a bullet wound and crusty crimson blood around her. "J-Jade?" Her eyes are wide open with fear. Callie manages to find her voice again, hoarse but clear. "Alex, w-w-where are you?" The teenager stumbles a bit and walks into the kitchen to find Alex on the ground with Sophia in his arms. He has blood pouring out from his fingers in a futile attempt to cover the wound, Sophia is barely there. "What happened?" Alex opens his mouth to answer, but the words won't come out. "Alex." Callie reiterated making him at her desperately. "Tell me what happened." Her voice becomes demanding.

"I-I-I…we were having dinner all normal like." The boy whispers inaudible phrases. Thank God, Nicky is at the hospital recovering from a severe asthma attack while Jake stays with his and Nicky's maternal grandparents, Mark and Ellen Jacobs. "How did this happen?"

Callie strains to hear him over the buzzing in her ears. Her eyes fall on a wound at Alex's arm. He doesn't even look phased by it. She kneels down. "Alex, did someone shoot you?" The boy in question glances at her as though he's only just discovering he had been shot himself. His arm did feel kind of funny. Callie takes out her phone. "I'm gonna call my dad." Alex shakes his head.

"Don't, please." Alex has never said 'please' to her before. "You can't. He'll call my dad."

"No, he won't. I promise. He isn't going to call him. Alex, I swear." She vowed, uncomfortable with seeing Alex in such a broken state. This guy is like a brother to her, he's basically Ben except more brash. "I'm going to call 911 to send help." There's a flash of fear in Alex's eyes "They won't call your dad okay? I won't let them."

He stammered. "I-I don't understand. We were eating dinner and it was good. Everything was normal. Then the phone rang and after dad hung up, he changed – he got his gun and started…I tried to stop him. They were screaming so loud. It was all so loud and I tried to get him to stop. But, I couldn't. He was stronger than me."

Alex recalls his dad striking him with the butt of the gun and getting knocked him out. When he came to; Jade was dead and Sophia bleeding. Alex tried to stop the blood, he did. The landline was disconnected and Alex had without realizing it called Callie. He didn't want the locals calling his dad if he called 911. After hanging up with Callie, dad returned with this strange look in his eyes and shot him too. Alex slammed into the kitchen wall and dad left again, for good this time. It was all so mechanical. Even the sound of his truck revving up and chugging down the street like, he was going to the store to get milk. After getting shot, Alex blacked out a second and when he came to, he went to a sobbing Sophia. He put his hands over the wound like they do on T.V.

"Where are Nicky and Jake?" Callie questioned praying to pineapples that they aren't dead upstairs.

The boy strains to remember and then it clicks together. "Not here, they're safe with family. H-he looked dead. Does that make? Dad didn't even look like himself. It was like he was here, but he wasn't. He was getting better, Callie. He wasn't…he wasn't smacking me so much and I really thought things were gonna be good."

"I know." Callie murmured mostly for his benefit and trembles while dialing 911. "Hi…my friend's family has been shot. He's okay, but his sister…she's not doing so good and his dad's girlfriend. I-I think she's dead. His dad shot them. Please, uh 18 no 81 Berry Road, yeah 81. Alex? Stay awake, please." Callie rushes over to him. "Alex!" She takes off her sweatshirt to tie around his arm that's pouring out blood. His eyes flutter open painfully. "Don't do that to me, you jerk. Keep your eyes open." Alex doesn't hear her. "We need you; you're part of our family."

Alex murmured. "I-I should've told her." He chuckles painfully. "Belle, I should've told her I loved her. If I die, will you tell her? She might hit you cause she'd think you were fucking with her, but I love her. I always have. I love her and I want her to know that." Callie frowns at him. "I wish I had told her before. I love her. See, that was easy."

"What? No, you aren't dying. Fuck, you were only shot in the arm. Don't be a wimp." Alex bites back a pained laugh. In the distance, Callie can hear sirens nearing closer and closer. That means help is going to be here. "Hear that." The sounds of ambulances are right outside now giving Callie some relief. "See, we'll get you all fixed up and you can tell Belle yourself." Her eyes grace Sophia, she looks so lifeless. "Sophia, help, is coming. Hold on. Hang in there, please." Callie whispered.

"Soph?" The brother gently jostles his sister. She makes a gurgling sound. "Don't go dying on me sis. I made a promise to you and that goes both ways." Alex sniffles. "We stick together; always and forever." The pain he's feeling in his arm is becoming too raw.

And just like magic the doors burst open to firefighters and cops alike storming in. This is like something out of a movie only there's less dramatics about it and an aura of seriousness. Alex does his best to stay awake, but in the midst of losing a lot of blood; he slips out of consciousness. Callie stands ignoring how the paramedics prod her for injury and then walk away when she's been sufficiently checked out. She attempts to follow after the EMT people, but a cop – James Copeland – holds her back. He's using almost all of his strength to do just that.

"Stop it. Stop it. I care about Alex and Sophia too, Callie. Just calm down okay, I need you to calm down all right?" Officer Copeland said sounding surprisingly kind. He appraises the girl, disgusted with the sight of blood all over her; it doesn't look natural. Hell, that entire crime scene looked like something out of a twisted horror movie. Jimmy had never seen little kids all bloodied up like that before. "Take a deep breath in. That's it, all right." Jimmy used to do this with Brendan and Wyatt in thunderstorms. "Do you want to tell me what in the hell happened here tonight?"

"A-Alex said his dad answered the phone and then he shot them. He went crazy…or maybe not crazy, but I don't know. Do you know if he and Sophia are going to be all right?" By the way Jimmy subtly avoids eye contact tells Callie he doesn't even know. She wraps her arms around herself trying to find a way to keep these surreal emotions from overpowering her. "C-Can you call my dad? I want my mom and dad." Just like that, the world stops spinning and Callie collapses to the ground; the exhaustion taking over along with a strange unbalanced beat clambering in her chest.

* * *

I do plan on continuing this story! Just give me some time!


	21. Unsteady

I know I said I was going to end it but when I gave it some thought. I decided to continue on with this story but this will take place from Season 12 going forward. There has also been a three month time leap.

* * *

Chapter 21- Unsteady

* * *

"Look, son–"

"I'm not your son."

The doctor, he mentioned his name earlier except Alex can't remember it now, his eyes flash. If Alex cared he'd be a little amused by the fact that he struck a nerve. Somehow the doctor…Alex glances at his chest, Dr. Tilden, takes a deep breath before calmly declaring. "You need to calm down."

"Calm down? You want me to calm down when no one's telling me dick about my sister? Fuck you." Alex has the sudden urge to begin smoking. His mother used to smoke. She always got this relaxed look on her face when she took a drag of that cig, like she had been waiting to light up all day. And in doing so, gave her a sense of freedom; at the time, Alex had been curious about his mother. Growing up, she was constantly around him yet weirdly enough she seemed far away. Dad didn't like it when mom smoked and made her quit. Sometimes dad pumped him for information about whether mom was being honest or not, one time when Alex was seven, he told him the truth and mom barely spoke to him for a week. That was when Alex learned to pretend not to see anything when all he did was observe to decipher between what he could and couldn't say.

A hand clamps down on his shoulder, not roughly, more like a resting stop. He looks up to see Agent Reid with an unreadable expression creasing his forehead. If this makes any sense, he looks older somehow. Alex had never thought of Agent Reid being old before this moment. He seems more world-weary, like there's a storm brewing in his head that he can't control.

"What are you doing here?" Alex asked, surprised.

"I'm here to make sure nothing bad happens to you." Reid inwardly cringes a second after saying that idiotic statement. Alex squints up at him feeling a throbbing pain in his shoulder. _He means to say nothing else, but he means well_. Spencer's gaze falls downward. "I uh I heard about Sophia. I am so sorry. We'll find your father and whoever helped him." The moment he looks back up is when Reid realizes that Alex is only just learning about Sophia's death. That would explain why Dr. Tilden came in here and why the good doctor currently looks slightly relieved.

"Sophia…S-S-Sophia's…but I made sure to keep my hands over the blood." Alex said trying to rub his head only to find his good arm is trapped in a sling. He uses his other hand, but it feels different. The itch is still there and he needs his right arm to get rid of it. "There was a lot of blood, but I kept a shit ton of it in. What'd I do wrong?"

This time, Dr. Tilden does speak. "You didn't do anything wrong Alexander. Sophia's body couldn't handle the…it's like this, her body went into a state of shock and she died on the way here. We did everything we could to…" Alex stops listening after that. He tunes Tilden out and rubs the wound in his shoulder. He'll have an interesting scar they say, they being the nurses. That's their way of trying to cheer him up since girls like guys with scars, but not the kind of chicks Alex is into. After a second or two, he presses on it lightly and his eyes widen. This may sound crazy, but feeling that reminded Alex he's alive. It reminded him he wasn't dreaming. And right now, he doesn't really know if that's a good thing or bad thing.

"Hey, don't do that. You'll cause an internal bleed that could result in surgery." Spencer ordered holding the boy's palm and much to his surprise, Alex doesn't try to yank his away. He just sits there, frozen. Like, there's nothing left to keep him alive anymore. Of course he has Nicholas and Jacob, but Reid doubts he was as close with them. The twins are almost three. Sophia was the only reminder of a childhood Alex remembers enjoying and with her dying, his childhood perishes with her.

* * *

Callie's eyes flutter open. The silhouette of her mother standing above her bed is almost haunting. The hum of machines beeping has Callie flashing back to when she was small and basically lived in a hospital. Her then social worker, Simon Lundy, had been handsome. He was kind too. But, who isn't nice to a sick toddler? Whenever Simon visited which was often, he brought candies too and his own daughter's discarded coloring books – ones he felt she would not miss. Before Callie knows it, JJ catches her staring and goes over to her.

"Please don't be mad."

Tears shove against the walls of JJ's eyes, but she holds them back. She has to. After Ross died, Sandy cried almost every day and at the time, eleven year old JJ had been scared. Her mother was considered the family rock. Every Jareau child was raised with a healthy fear of mom whereas dad was the light touch. So it shook JJ's world when she witnessed her mother sobbing uncontrollably. JJ takes Callie's face in her hands feeling enraged and relieved all at once. "Oh baby, I'm – I'm just glad you're okay." Her daughter relaxes leaning into her touch. "Anyway, I'm too worried to be mad. I can be mad and lecture you later."

"I'm sorry, momma." Callie whispered unknowingly using that word for the first time.

"I know you are."

"You're up." A voice boomed, surprised. He'd been expecting Callie to stay unconscious for at least one more day, but here she is, awake. She'd only been unconscious for a day. That's good. That means she's strong. Dr. Fletcher walks in with four interns following. "I'm Dr. Russell Fletcher, the cardiothoracic specialist around here. You've been unconscious for almost two days." He pauses letting that resonate before introducing the rest of his staff, Callie doesn't pay them much mind. Dr. Fletcher goes on to explain how she had a mild heart attack as a result from undue stress and more specifically failing to take her heart meds. JJ has an urge to smack her kid when she hear Callie nonchalantly state that she forgot. "We'll start her on a more aggressive form on medication for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy." Dr. Fletcher stated as JJ nods wordlessly. "Oh and I'm told by her father that Callie is a vegetarian."

JJ's brow furrows. "Yes, what does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, people with HCM need a more structured diet. They need a healthy diet which I'm sure you supply for her, but reintroducing meat like fish or chicken would serve to help in the long run." Dr. Fletcher explained keeping his eyes on the real person in charge, Callie's mother.

"Hold up, don't I get a say in this?" Callie demanded. "What if I don't wanna eat Bambi?"

"That's not up to you." JJ clipped ignoring the look Dr. Fletcher tosses their way. The mother can tell he thinks she's saying the wrong thing, but this is her daughter. He didn't get a call from the police saying her kid had been in the hospital after witnessing a shooting. Luckily, Callie didn't see Frank turn the gun on his family but still. She and Will couldn't even think straight so Garcia drove them to the hospital where Callie was hooked up to machines. Imagine for a minute seeing your little girl being kept alive by machines. She looked so small, Will stayed by her side all night. The only reason he left was because Henry had been asking or rather demanding for one of them.

The teenager glares silently and crosses her arms before frowning in thought. She blinks up at JJ as she suddenly recalls the reason she's here right now. "Hey wait, where are Alex and Sophia?" They came in with her. Or at least Callie thinks they did. JJ half considers scolding her daughter for swearing, but Callie looks so disheartened. "Where are they? Are they okay?"

Dr. Fletcher shares an awkward look with his staff. "I'll uh give you two a minute." He vanishes out of the room with his staff following close behind.

"No," Callie shakes her head. She may not be a profiler, but she's no idiot. "Mom, no! Tell me they're okay. Please, you hafta tell me they're okay. I-I did my best to help a-and they can't be dead."

"Calm down, sweets. Don't get so worked up." JJ isn't sure how to tell Callie this. The mother in her wants to shield Callie from all the bad things in the world, but she deserves the truth. JJ waits until Callie is calm before reluctantly deciding to continue. "Alex is okay, but Sophia didn't make it." Callie's head collapses into the pillow and she closes her eyes. Sophia was just a kid. "Hey, baby, none of what happened is your or Alex's fault okay?" JJ gives her daughter a tight hug letting Callie decide when it's over. The teenager stares off into space with that Jareau squint flickering. JJ sends Will a quick text all while watching her kid. He replies in a matter of seconds. Hopefully, this will cheer Callie up or give her something to look forward to. "Oh hey, I just texted your dad and he's coming with Henry and Mike. He wants to know if it's okay to bring them. They all really want to see you."

Callie rubs her eyes, shoving her fingers in deep. She doesn't want to cry. If she pushes the tears in far enough then maybe she won't. "Yeah sure…but can I see Alex first? I have to know he's okay." Even though, Callie knows Alex is anything but. In all honesty, Callie isn't sure he ever will be.

 _Three Months Later_

Grief is a series of forgetting and remembering. It comes in waves, you can feel happy one minute and forget that everything isn't a complete shit storm then all of a sudden; you remember. You remember how they crinkled their nose when they laughed or how they liked their macaroni with bacon bits. Then a wave of grief crashes against you rocking you to the core, making you feel grief and guilt in one swoop. It leaves a twisted bitterness in your gut, like when you tell your parents a lie for the first time.

Only, this is different.

Fibbing about getting a note sent home is one thing, but forgetting your sister died is another. To be fair, Alex can never forget. But, he has brief slivers of happiness. Like, when Jack burps the alphabet during breakfast. He laughs. And then he hates himself for laughing at all. Sophia was everything to him. She was his real sister, it isn't that Nicholas and Jacob aren't his brothers; they are. But, he and Sophia came from the same stock. Sometimes when Alex looked at her, he could remember their mom again. The mom that abandoned them to find anything better, Alex abruptly wonders if anyone told her. He doesn't know how they'd reach her, but Victoria has a right to know.

"What's with your face? Are you constipated?" Callie's half-teasing, half-worried voice brings Alex out of his trance. He should've heard her coming from across the room. Since the incident, Callie's had a heart monitor strapped to her waist. It makes this light, practically inaudible to beeping sound. Callie hates it. She liked being able to tiptoe into a room without being heard; it was a practice she refined in years of foster care and now she's reduced to being heard. Well, heard by people with very good hearing. And her entire family has especially amazing ears. In Alex and pretty much everyone's opinion, the device looks more like a PSP or Gameboy than what he pictured a heart monitor.

"Screw you." Alex quipped. There's a hint of blue beneath his eyes. He hasn't been sleeping. _How can he when all he sees is Sophia's soft hazel eyes looking at him?_ No, staying awake and avoiding his dick subconscious makes more sense. The brunette understands what happened wasn't his fault, but understanding and believing are two very different animals. His eyes meet Callie's. She's waiting. "I was thinking of finding my mom."

Callie smirked. She's done something like that before. "Do you need any help?" At Alex's look, Callie folds her arms over her chest. His time with her family has taught him, it's best to work in fewer numbers to avoid getting into trouble. Not that any of her relatives would punish him, he's staying partially with Spencer Reid and partially with Aaron Hotchner; neither has tried to assert their dad-ness yet. "What? I know a thing about finding parents."

"It was just a thought." Alex swallows. He leans against the wall. His good arm is in a sling. Spencer's way of making him feel better about it is to tell him how rare it is to learn how to be ambidextrous at a later age increases life longevity. But, Alex doesn't care so much about living a long life anymore except he can't tell Agent Reid that without hurting his feelings. "Hey, wait, aren't you supposed to be resting?" He's trying hard to distract Callie now and hopefully it works.

Her grin sours into a glare. "I swear if someone tells me to rest one more time I'll…" she trailed off, uneasy with the heart monitor on. They, being Dr. Fletcher, said what happened was a mini heart attack brought on by a panic attack from extreme stress and forgetting to take her pill. Callie is now on a stronger dose of heart meds, she's required to wear the monitor for another week and has to eat more protein-based foods. Because, Dr. Fletcher isn't certain taking her heart meds and the protein pills wasn't the direct cause of the heart riot. "I got released like two months ago and everyone thinks I'm made of glass, but I'm fucking fine so just shut up about me resting. I'm so done with resting okay?" Callie snapped without meaning to.

"Are you on your period or something?" Alex commented, his eyes twinkling in the same way they did before this mess imploded. Callie watches him a moment longer than she should. There are rare moments, like this one, where Alex is the guy he was before. And then, just like that, he changes back into the ghost. His thoughts trace back to Victoria. "I feel like she ought to know, my uh Victoria I mean, Sophia was her kid. Agent Reid said they're trying to find her, but I think…I should be the one to tell her. Don't you think?"

"Yeah," Callie sees where he's coming from. He thinks that finding Victoria will help him. And maybe it will, finding JJ helped her. Except JJ didn't get lost on purpose. "I'll help you. Whatever you need me to do; I'll do it."

"You're just being nice because my sister's dead." The way he says that so callously sheds a light on how empty Alex feels. He looks just as stunned with himself for having said that. He blinks at her appearing almost afraid, of what Callie isn't sure. "I'm sorry." Alex said licking his lips. He doesn't know where that came from.

Worry burns bright red on her cheeks. "You have nothing to be sorry for." By the grimace that wasn't the right thing to say, so Callie decides to add. "Anyway, I'm pretty sure there are laws against slapping cripples." The normalcy returns leaving Alex grateful Callie isn't giving him a pass. There have been so many fucking people who've given him a pass about shit lately that it's starting to get to him. But, he also gets pissed off when people don't give him a pass either. Right now, Callie's catching him at a favorable time – when he's ambivalent.

Alex looks up at the ceiling a moment longer than usual. There's something that's been nagging at him since the funeral. Frank was never religious and as far as he knows Victoria was allergic to church. So when, the priest at Sophia's service said she's with angels. That stuck with him. Alex hopes she's someplace better than what their life was. They used to pretend it wasn't so crappy, but that game is only fun when you have enough swiped candies to believe it is. His gaze falls onto a concerned looking Callie. Out of all their friends, she's the only one who hasn't given him the pity face. Their teachers did it too. By the last day of school, Alex thought about skipping just to avoid looking at everyone. He didn't. But, he really thought about it.

Right now, her face is a cross between trying to read him and being worried when she can't. Alex is getting used to gauging when people are trying to read what he's not saying. Agent Hotchner and Agent Reid are nice guys, but Alex can't stand it when they try to profile him. Callie's told him to grow his hair out because eyes are their strongest targets. She's trying to look into his right now but Alex took her advice.

His brown hair flops against the fronts of his deep green eyes. "So uh do you believe in uh Heaven? I know you don't believe in God, but Heaven's different." Before Callie has a chance to respond; Alex answers himself first. "I want to, but its bullshit. It's like something people say to make themselves feel better and I don't want to feel better." That's a lie. He does, but not like that. "I want to know she's okay and I can't so…so I just – I wish I did believe in Heaven, but I don't."

Callie is honestly at a loss. She doesn't know everything about God or the Bible. The Dalton's tried to force religion down her, Tasha, and Bug's throats but they each rebelled in their own way. Not in front of them of course; Tasha listened to music during religious education while acting like she was paying attention, Bug read books in his Bible during church, and Callie made up stories about the characters. The blonde girl gives Alex a minute before jogging to catch up with him. There's a comfortable silence that forms among the teens. The kind of stillness that takes years to be born, but Alex and Callie are bonded for life.

"Maybe feeling pain is better than feeling nothing at all. Cause with pain you know it'll fade and then maybe you'll be able to feel something else instead." Callie offered her piece. Alex considers this. She could be right. The silence lasts another moment before the blonde breaks it. "When are Jake and Nicky coming back again?" Since Sophia's death, they'd been with their maternal grandparents; Ellen and Mark Jacobs. But, that's all about to change. According to Ellen, Mark's been forgetting more and according to Mark, Ellen's arthritis has acted up again. In a sense, they're relinquishing the rights of their only kin into the FBI's capable care.

"Tomorrow, I think they'll stay with Agent Hotchner." Alex can see them staying with Agent Hotchner, but he has a kid too so that could complicate things. "I'm gonna crash with Agent Reid." Staying with Spencer is fine with the teenager; he has a huge ass collection of books Alex is attempting to get through and Reid never looks at him weird.

"Who told you that?" Personally, Callie hadn't thought much about where Alex would be staying. She was under the impression all three of the Karvelle brothers would be together.

"Nobody, but can you imagine Agent Reid with my brothers?" It is a funny thing to imagine, they're both at the age where they're way too busy for their own good. Jake tends to get into more than Nicky, but the pair of them happens to be partners in crime. Alex smirks at her expression and starts on his way out the back door.

Callie questioned. "Where're you going?"

"Out," Alex responded carefully. All he wants is to be able to breathe and he can't do that with people tracking his every move. Hell, he can't do that with even Callie hanging around. Right now all Alexander Paul Karvelle wants is to visit his sister and be there without anyone watching him. That can't be too much to ask. And yet, Alex turns to her with a strange almost desperate expression. "You wanna come?" It's like sharing the experience of trauma has allowed them to form a familial bond of sorts. Callie is the only one who went through everything he did; she's the only one who gets it.

"Uncle Aaron isn't going to let you leave." His friend is quick to follow after him. Callie runs a hand through her curls, her parents would kill her if she left but it's not like she has a choice. Alex needs her. "Your dad is still…well you know how my family is."

Alex crosses his arms. "I do know how your family is, but that's not what you were gonna say. You were gonna say that since my dad's still missing your parents think once I'm alone; he's gonna finish the job. But, the thing is; if he ever tries, I'll kill him first." There it is again, the flare of his temper rising deep in his chest. This time, however, Alex doesn't blink. He holds it back gauging to see whether Callie will say anything.

"Alex, you don't mean that."

"Yeah, I do. He killed them." Jade had died that night too. She, Sophia, and Callie presumes what was left of Alex's childhood. "He killed Sophia." Alex's voice is brimming with vengeance. So, Callie decides not to mention how Frank was under another guy's voodoo. Frank Karvelle killed Sophia yes but he wasn't himself. Alex seems to be forgetting that part or choosing to forget. "I left a note so I should be fine." Alex said as Callie shoots him a look, that won't fly. He huffs. "Look, Agent Hotchner probably doesn't even care. I'm not his kid. I'm just part of his paycheck. He didn't notice those other times I slipped out."

In this family, they appear at the perfect time. "What other times Alexander?" Aaron demanded wishing he had taken Garcia up on her offer to put trackers in their phones. Maybe Reid will decide that's what is best, although he sincerely doubts it.

"That's just a saying we kids say, Uncle Aaron." Callie lied as Alex raises his eyebrows as though he wants to hear her explanation as well. She glares at him. "You know; those times I went shopping o uh those times I…" Hotch's face tells Callie he isn't buying what she's trying to sell. "I decided to stop talking."

"Good plan, sweets." JJ smiles at her daughter and then adds. "I've been looking for you, you know."

"Yeah and I've been avoiding you." The teenager answered a little too sassily for her father's liking.

Will nudges her lightly yet warningly. "Hey, don't talk like that to your momma."

"If you want, I could have Garcia keep tabs on her whereabouts." Aaron said as Will and JJ exchange looks not even considering it but wanting to instill a sense of fear. Neither had the heart to ground her after what happened that night. They figured she'd gone through enough and didn't need to put an overemphasis on it. On his part, Reid understands why Alex felt the need to wander off. No one has let Alex be alone and that had likely irked the grieving boy. Not to mention, having to leave his home to move into two homes with people he hardly knows.

"I'm pretty sure that's illegal, Uncle Aaron." Callie shakes her head shuddering dramatically.

JJ gently steers the fifteen year old over. "How're you feeling?" She presses her palm against Callie's forehead, gauging her temperature. The smaller blonde doesn't feel warm. Then again, she didn't look any worse for wear the day she forgot to take her pills either.

"I'm fine," Callie pushes her mom's hand away and takes a step back. "I just hate this thing." She points to the piece, hidden by her shirt. The monitor itself is a small machine with two wires covered by plastic rubber attached to her chest. The end pieces stick sort of like stickers, but with a stronger stick to them. Dr. Fletcher promised them that it would never cause any discomfort unless someone played with it.

"That thing is important, so don't play with it." Her father ordered in his firm voice.

The constant beeps, though, are setting Callie's teeth on edge. She isn't sure why. That Gameboy-like machine is the one thing that tells her she's still alive. That her heart is still working as it should. Well, if Callie's being honest this thing in her chest isn't even her heart. It belonged to Juliette Wallace. Callie's got taken out when she was two and replaced with Juliette's. When she sifted through her file last year, Callie found that strange. Until they located a heart she was connected to machines that kept her alive. Her social worker, Simon Lundy, and doctors had hoped to find a heart that would be suitable for her but Callie wondered if they really thought about what that meant. For her to get a heart would mean a healthy toddler would have to die. And that happened. Juliette died and Callie stole her heart. Stole is the wrong word, she received Juliette's heart. Everyone says it was a good heart – one that would last a lifetime. Now Callie ponders if her lifetime is up or is it the heart's lifetime. They hope this was an isolated incident and with aggressive meds then everything will sort out, but it might not.

With everything that's been happening, Callie feels like she's in a race car that's going around and around and around the track. It isn't spinning so much as, well picture it like this, the fast forward button is going but Callie can't find the remote to press play. In other areas of her life, things are in slow motion. Sophia's dead. Mr. Karvelle is missing. They're saying since he worked at the prison where all those felons escaped that he was involved. Callie's heard her family talking about Frank being influenced by some guy named Mr. Scratch.

The summer in general went by fast. Sophia died. School ended. Belle went to Spain. Wyatt visited his relatives in Oklahoma. Aviva, Grace, and Mason found summer jobs. Sean's working at the diner. Callie and Alex got released from the hospital. Garcia had to move into the FBI. Alex went to live part-time with both Uncle Aaron and Uncle Spencer. Callie's almost glad school is starting up again. At least that way, she'll see her friends. She fiddles with the machine trying to find the heart monitor's volume switch or something.

"Didn't you hear your dad? This isn't a toy." A hand slips into hers and Callie frowns at her mother, she looks more worried than usual. There must be a difficult case going on that's making her mom act so weird. JJ continues holding Callie's hand tapping her fingers against the teenager's palm. "It measures your heartbeat to make sure we know if there's something wrong."

"I know that." Callie rolls her eyes. "I just wanted to turn the volume down; it was annoying." JJ bites her lip; the teen hadn't been paying attention when Dr. Fletcher explained how to use it. She was more concerned with Alex and his reaction to hearing about Sophia. "I know it's supposed to help, but all its doing right now is giving me a huge headache…isn't there like a thing where it goes off for the serious stuff?"

JJ nods tightly. "There is." She sits down at the table and motions the fifteen year old over. The mother then stands her daughter between her legs and Callie lifts up her shirt. "You know, it's important for you know how to use this yourself, Callie."

"I do know how to use it, mom. I just couldn't find the volume button."

"There is no volume button. See, you have to go settings. Then you click into sound, then under the manual tab there's emergency use only and here we go. Now this will only go off if it measures irregularities with your heart and an ambulance will be sent to your location." JJ finishes in a matter of minutes. Over the past few months, she and Will have become adept at manipulating that machine. Callie knows how to use it too, but she gets sick of it easily and resorts to try other methods of destruction on it.

Callie shuddered. "That's so weird that random people can know where I am."

"Not random people, only 911 operators." Garcia added a few modifications to it making it so no one other than the proper authorities could trace it. "It's for your safety." Her kid still looks hesitant, not worried or scared, just annoyed that people can find her. JJ rolls her eyes. "Anyway, your dad and I are supposed to know where you are at all times. Is that creepy?"

"Uh yeah about that, I don't like it. None of my friend's parents act like you guys." The teenager retorted folding her arms over her chest grimacing at the lack of freedom.

JJ doesn't miss a beat. "None of your friend's parents work for the FBI."

"Yeah, I know." The way Callie says that causes JJ to pull a face. She briefly wonders whether her work at the FBI has hampered her children's happiness. Callie is dramatic for sure, but Henry has never really...besides that one incident. But, they're all happy enough kids. "They let their kids have fun." She added, playing tit for tat as well as testing the waters. Callie finds the prospect of winding either one of her parents up kind of enjoyable.

"And you don't get to have any fun? Is that it?" JJ asked rolling her eyes. They've tightened the reins to ensure none of their own gets hurt and that may feel unfair but it's their job to keep them out of harm's way. Henry hasn't complained but in hind sight, Callie's more perceptive; she notices when JJ gets a trim at the salon or when Will forgets to shave. "Sweets, you're still able to do everything you could before. You can go swimming, ride your bike, kick the soccer ball around…"

"Hey yeah," Callie interrupted. "Dr. Fletcher emailed me back saying I can play soccer this season."

Forcing a smile she doesn't feel, JJ pastes one onto her face. "That's great baby." Although in the back of her mind all JJ can think about is whether or not she has it in her to give Callie permission to play. Just because Dr. Fletcher said she could doesn't mean Jennifer Jareau is going to let her.

* * *

Hotch crosses his arms. He's been under so much stress in both fronts; home and work. Jack's still giving him the cold shoulder, but it's beginning to become lukewarm. Alex had a lot to do with Jack warming back up. Having a big brother figure around has actually helped. It's also caused Aaron to wonder what life would've been like if he and Haley had more kids. He wanted to start a family in the early 2000s, but Haley wasn't ready. After Jack was born, she even pushed to have another baby when he was eleven months. But, Aaron's job got in the way then the prospect of having a second child became further and further from their minds.

Alex is a good kid, amazing even. But, right now, Hotch needs a break; not from Alex just from everything that has to do with the BAU. Jack needs him. Glancing down at his ward, Aaron's gaze softens. "Alex, you know your brothers are coming tomorrow."

"Yeah," the young man responded before changing his answer. "I uh mean yes sir." He may have been born into a fucked up family, but he knows the meaning of respect.

Hotch keeps his eyes on Alex, studying him. He needs a haircut. "So it's been decided they'll stay with Agent Lewis and you'll stay with Agent Reid." The agent declared gauging his reaction and sees a flicker of shock grace Alex's features. Jack is definitely going to miss having him around, Alex is an easy kid though. He does as he's told and stays out of everyone's way. He even distracts Jack when he senses Hotch needs him to. But, that's what is so worrying too. Alex is too good. He's been acting with his shield up and maybe with Spencer, he'll bring it down. The only time he acts like a real kid is when he's with Callie.

"Why can't you take them?" Alex asked.

"You don't trust Tara." Hotch observed with raised eyebrows. Alex returns the look. It isn't that, but he knows Agent Hotchner better. Aaron seems to interpret and at the very least understand his reasoning behind this. "There are things that need to be worked out."

His ward pressed. "What things?" That sounds way too fucking vague. When he was four, his mom would say they were going on a trip and when he asked where, she wouldn't say. The vagueness used to bother him and everyday he'd ask when they were going on their trip. Until one day, mom stopped even talking about going at all and then he stopped asking. He just stopped. There was no rhyme or reason to it; he just knew their trip would never happen.

"Just things," Aaron stares down at his ward with a firm expression. He knows just how easy-going Reid can be sometimes. "No more sneaking out, given everything that's happened; it's too dangerous. I expect you to be on your best behavior for Agent Reid." That tone. It's the tone all parents use when they know their kids will mind. Parents use it along with the patent raised eyebrow or squint of the eyes. Alex waits for Hotch to employ either of the additional crap his dad and Jade used to do and seems oddly impressed when all the agent does is level him with a firm look.

Alex knows an order when he hears one. "Yes sir."

Hotch nods, satisfied. He gears to leave the kitchen and pauses at the door. "You mean more to me than a number, Alex." With that, he leaves the bemused boy to his thoughts.

* * *

"Why're you looking at me like that?"

Callie plops down beside Henry on the couch, handing him an ice-cream drumstick. Alex is probably getting a lecture in the kitchen about now and she managed to tiptoe out of there before she got an extra one from her uncle. But, not before she got some ice cream. Henry likes the chocolate filled ones best whereas Callie prefers the caramel ones. Henry thinks they taste okay, but he loves anything related to chocolate.

"It's like you're like a real superhero now." Henry gushed ignoring her tone. His eyes are bright with admiration only a little brother can possess. Callie resists the urge to ruffle his hair; it's getting long again, she wonders if their parent's plans on making him get a trim. Poor kid, he doesn't even realize that mom and dad only do that so they can read them better. Henry is quick to add. "Like a Transformer, but you're just a girl."

"And you're asking to get tied to a chair." Callie smirked. Henry shrugs turning back to his show. He has the remote therefore control of whatever they watch which happens to be Jessie. Callie used to take it off him, but then he'd tattle on her. Callie figures it's easier to wait until he either gets bored or has to go to bed. She's actually starting to get into the show when suddenly Henry eyes her unnervingly. "Quit looking at me like a stalker and ask what you wanna ask, Hen."

Henry pauses the show he's watching and turns to look at his sister. "Are you gonna die?" That question almost makes Callie chock on her dessert. She whips the remote out of his hand to pause the show. Henry swallows feeling scared. "I heard mom and dad talking. They said they were scared you were gonna die. So are you?" He asked, he doesn't want Callie to die. She only just started being his real sister.

"I-I-I don't know. My heart isn't…I don't know if my heart's so good anymore." Callie answered sitting down beside him on the couch. She's never outright lied to Henry before.

"But, you're nice. How can your heart not be good if you're nice?" Henry demanded innocently.

Callie purses her lips. How do you explain this to an almost eight year old? "Hearts don't really work the way you think. People can be nice, but have hearts that aren't working the way they're supposed to. You don't understand what I'm saying, do you?" Henry shakes his head. The teenager sighs, doing her best to come up with a sufficient yet honest answer. "Think of it like this, you know how the Wii broke a few months ago."

"Cause Finley's rabbit Midnight chewed one of the wires when she brought him over." Her brother said a bit happy to have something to add. He recalls mom and dad getting upset though. Fin wasn't supposed to bring Midnight to their house. They didn't let him watch T.V. for a week.

"Yeah and remember how the wire shocked a little when we tried to stick them back together?" Their parents weren't pleased when they learned about those things; sometimes Callie wonders if they know how annoyingly overprotective they are. Callie waits for him to nod before continuing. "Well, that's sort of what happened to my heart. I uh it got a shock of its own and stopped working for a few seconds."

Henry glances up and down at his Callie. The boy reaches over and touches her heart monitor, not in any kind of inappropriate way but the curious way children do. He sees the light beep. Mom, dad, and Callie all said that if there are beeps then it's doing what it's supposed to. "But, it's working now."

"Yeah that's because I take my special heart vitamin every morning like you take your vitamin and this thing here tells me how I'm doing and if I need to go to the hospital again." Callie reaches over and patting his cheek. This act alone is something JJ does when any one of her children are scared and Callie doing so gives Henry some comfort.

"Why can't you do what dad did and buy a new Wii only just buy a new heart that'll work?"

"Because, we gotta see first if the special heart vitamins will help first." She explained and at his confused squint matched with a tilt of the head, Callie expands. "It's kinda like we're putting tape on the chewed up piece of wire and it's working right now." Not to mention the fact that what Henry had proposed is illegal, but that's getting into a whole giant jar of worms.

His eyes widen fearfully. He reminded her. "But, that didn't fix the old Wii for good. It's still broke."

 _Yeah, just like how I'm still broke but sort of together too._ "Hey, I'm not gonna die for a long, long, long, long time okay?" Callie is left with a bitter taste in her mouth, but she doesn't care. Reassuring her baby brother that everything is going to be fine is an easier thing to contend with than telling him the truth…being that she doesn't know.

"You promise?" Henry looks into her eyes.

"I promise." This is the first time Callie has ever lied to him.


	22. Sanctuary

Takes place at The Crimson King. Hi guys, I'm really sorry it's been forever and a day since I updated but I've been really busy with school and work and life. I promise I'll try to make my updates more frequent and do my best to update weekly or every other week. I was also suffering from a LOT of writer's block. Again my apologies, do hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!

* * *

Chapter 22- Sanctuary

* * *

Callie helps Alex lug his third and final suitcase into Uncle Spencer's apartment. He doesn't own much. More than her when she started living with JJ and Will, but less than what she would consider normal. Then again, Callie isn't by any means an expert on anything normal. However, she does consider herself to be an exceptional amateur on spotting the irregularities and this just so happens to be one of them.

Out of the corner of her eye, Callie sees Alex looking around awkwardly almost as though he's uncomfortable in his own skin. He saw the twins this morning, over brunch, they were in high spirits. When they first saw Alex, they collided into their older brother's knees and demanded for their precious So-So. When they were little, neither could say Sophia's name so that's what they called her. For some reason, Alex's name had somehow been easier for them. Alex thinks this is before Jade, he'd been the ones raising the twins. It only made sense for the twins to know and later chant his name like a fan in a crowd.

"Are you okay?' Callie questioned. Reid's place isn't exactly huge, but Uncle Derek swung by and helped make the junk room into a makeshift bedroom for Alex. Spencer has a guest bedroom which is in the long process of being emptied out, but for now, the former junk room will do. Alex is learning that Agent Reid is a pack rat of sorts; a fact he doesn't mind. His dad used to throw everything out, pictures of Alex's mom, old clothes along with stuffed animals that have seen better days, and treasured memories. Alex would rather live with someone who kept everything than someone who got rid of everything. As the duo steps into his room, Callie feels a Harry Potter vibe; nothing too cramped like the closet Harry stayed in but definitely small, a comfortable small.

"Fine," Alex said, not even trying to be convincing. He sits down on the bed. His room isn't too close to Agent Reid that he feels congested and not far enough away for him to feel unsafe either; it was a strategic move.

"I know it's kind of small, but Uncle Spence said once he gets the guest bedroom livable; it's yours." Callie feels the promise Reid made last night sound oddly scratchy to her own ears.

If Alex notices, he doesn't let on. Instead, he peers around as though realizing it's small for the first time. "This room's fine. Who knows how long I'll be here anyway." He mumbled.

Callie squints, deciding to head out before he gets too upset. "I should go." She lingers. Who does she have waiting for her? She and Sean broke up two months ago, she couldn't handle his constant presence and he couldn't handle she and Alex growing close. But, not in the way Sean thought. Her friend/surrogate cousin needs her, even if he won't admit it. "You'll see them soon." Alex raises his eyebrows. "Nicky and Jake…ah I mean Samuel. I forget that their grandpa said we're going to call him Sam now." Callie corrected hesitantly as Alex shrugs biting his lip. Mark told him they've decided to call Jacob, Samuel as to avoid any confusion when they change the twin's surname. They're planning on doing it later this month, so Nick will be Nicholas Evan Jacobs and Jacob will be Samuel Edward Jacobs, Sam for short. They don't want the Karvelle name to taint their grandsons and Alex gets it. They're figuring since Jake ah Sam is only two he won't even remember being called Jake. Alex is thinking about changing his last name to his mother's maiden name, Sinclair. He has to admit, Alexander Sinclair does have an oddly charming ring to it.

He rubs the back of his neck. He hadn't been thinking about the twins. Alex felt weird being with them this morning; a part of him hadn't enjoyed it as much as he should've. It felt wrong to act like he's happy when there's only a strangled numbness in his gut. They didn't say anything about dad or Sophia. They talked but said nothing at the same time. Alex is finding people never say the real things, the shit no one wants to hear.

"I'm sure I will." He keeps his tone even. Alex doesn't want to isolate himself from the only friend who is able to put up with him. Well, her and Aviva but Aviva doesn't count because most of the time she ends up pissing him off which isn't unusual. Mason doesn't like it when he gets 'too honest' with Grace, Wyatt acts strange, and Belle is still traveling the world with her family, and the guys he hangs with outside of them avoid him like the plague. They don't want to hang out with a murderer's son. Callie thinks they're afraid, like becoming a murderer is a disease someone can obtain.

"Alex," Callie began and then stops. She doesn't know what to say. His face is unreadable; it's been that way a lot recently, with his hair always in his eyes. Callie wishes she hadn't given him advice to grow it out and even more so wishes he hadn't taken it. Alex flicks it out of the way like a wild horse. For a flicker of a second, she recognizes the friend before her. He looks like Alex again and not the broken shell that has taken his place. Then he blinks and returns to his new self again. "How're you feeling about moving in with Uncle Spencer? I know you liked living with Uncle Aaron."

"It doesn't matter where I live, Callie." Alex said, a little more clearly. He figures living here may be better because this is closer to where Sophia's buried – so he can visit her. Alex hasn't gone to the site since her funeral and even then the entire affair was rushed. Hotch and Jack had been nice, but nowhere is forever. "When your family finds my dad and Mr. Scratch, the twins and I will be in put foster care. Do you think we'll get split us up cause we're only half-brothers and not real brothers?"

Callie is genuinely shocked. "What? No, they don't split up siblings like that." Her thoughts go to how she, Henry and Michael aren't actual siblings. Will's adopted her and everything, but still. They aren't related by blood, but she's been told that blood doesn't make a family. She also knows for a fact that regardless of them being half or whole, that Social Services, has a policy about siblings never being split up. Alex hums to himself, wondering if the twins would be better off without him. He's kind of fucked up. "Alex, are you seriously planning on going to find your mom? I promise my Aunt Pen is still looking for her."

"I know your Aunt Penelope is smart, but I don't know." Alex runs a hand through his shaggy locks. "She should know what happened. Do you," he chances a glance at his best friend almost nervous. "Do you…uh was your offer to help me, did you uh mean it?"

"Yeah, I did. I'm pretty good at finding parents." She catches his eye hoping beyond any other hope that Alexander Karvelle will crack a grin at the irony within that statement. In all honesty, Callie wonders occasionally what would have happened if Robert had been given custody of her. Sure, she sees Robert and Lillian from time to time along with her other half-brothers too, but she thinks of them as cousins or distant relatives.

Alex chuckled. "Guess you are the expert." His lighthearted joke makes Callie smile sadly.

"Whatever you need me to do, Alex. I'll do it. We're family."

Before Alex can respond, Spencer walks into the cramped bedroom. "Hey uh Alex, I know this room is small but it's the best I can do." He does have a spare bedroom, but that seemed a little too messy and with his mother's declining health; she may up in there. "You can paint it a different color. I chose dark-gray blue because it's a soothing color and the saleswoman told me teenage boys don't have a preference. Her belief stems from raising five boys and all of them not caring, but if you do care, we can change it."

"This is uh great, Agent Reid." The male teenager responded.

"You can call me Spencer, if you like. I understand you referring to me as 'Agent' is your way of respecting me and I appreciate that, but…I want for us to trust one another. I think we should start as friends and work our way up to guardian and child." Spencer has researched and found that by creating an open relationship with a teen then it opens the doors to possibly being able to bond with said child.

Callie watches the exchange feeling uncomfortable, like she's invading on their special bonding time or whatever. "So, I'll uh I'll leave you guys to it then." With that, the young girl bids her uncle and best friend farewell. She makes her way down to where her father is waiting in his car. He offered to help bring Alex's stuff up, but the boy refused leading to the detective to wait awkwardly. Strangely enough, he was able to answer some emails clearing up whether or not Callie could actively play sports with the soccer and lacrosse coaches.

"Well that was fast. I thought you were going to help Alex unpack." Derek stars up the car while sneaking a glance at his perturbed surrogate niece. He offered to take Callie to Reid's partially because he thought it'd help the LaMontange family out and partially because he wanted to show off baby Hank.

"He didn't need any help with that." Callie lied. Although, is it really a lie if she already knows Alex wouldn't have wanted her help anyway? She thinks for a moment. "Uncle Derek, do you think I'm fucked up?"

"Yeah I'm pretty sure your mom wouldn't like you swearing and neither do I." Derek puts on his profiler face, one he only employs in rare desperate times. Like, when he's going up his annoying neighbors the Shells at charades. "To answer your question, no I don't think you're fucked up. Don't give me that look, I'm grown enough to swear. You aren't."

Callie rolls her eyes and then bites down on her lip. "But, I've been thinking like I was a foster kid and I saw Sophie die and I saw Alex fall apart and I've seen some pretty messed up crap."

"You know I'd never lie to you, don't you?" He waits for Callie to nod before continuing. "I promise you, you aren't fucked up. How you choose to react to situations defines who you are, not the situation itself. Do you understand? Listen to me when I tell you kid, you're going to do some amazing things in this life. You're going to change the world." Derek can tell, Callie has something in her. He can see it. She's going to really be something amazing.

"How do you know?" Callie rolls her eyes blushing in slight embarrassment like all kids do when adults toss a compliment their way.

"I just know." Derek commented with a shrug. "The same way your parents know. You'll understand when you're older."

The blonde teenager sighed. She really wished she could understand whatever it was she supposedly needed to understand. Being a teenager sucked, people expected you to act innocent and then be grown up when the time came to it. Except when she was with Uncle Derek, he helped make things clearer. Callie gently rests her head on his shoulder resting on the stand between them. "I miss you."

"I'm right here, Cal." He pats her head affectionately. He swears this kid is his favorite niece.

"Yeah, but I don't see you so much anymore." Callie admitted quietly, peering at him with those big Jareau eyes making Derek feel like the biggest jerk in the world. She would never admit it, but Derek is her favorite uncle; Uncle Spencer has a special relationship with Henry, Uncle Aaron is way too serious, and Uncle Dave is great but she's always felt like Uncle Derek has always been honest with her.

"I know and I'm sorry about that, but I'm here and you're coming over for dinner." The guilt collides into Derek like a freight train. He wishes he could see more of Callie, but with everything that's been going on with not just them but him too. Hank hasn't exactly been the easiest baby and Savannah is reading way too many parenting books, she's also reading teenager books too – just in case they need to suddenly take in Alex Karvelle. She's more than willing to "accept another child" but that only worries Derek. He thought they had a good thing going without anyone bringing unnecessary risk into their home again.

The teenager is way too smart for her own good. "That's cause mom and dad want alone time with Henry." She can guess that her parents want to talk to Henry about being separated from his friends this year. He still hasn't gotten over it and his bad attitude somehow puts Michael in a bad funk too; it's contagious.

"Yeah and your aunt and I want some alone time with you. It evens out."

"Why'd you quit working with my mom?" It feels like whenever her mom stops working with someone, they stop seeing them so much. Like Meg, she hasn't seen Meg in months or Ben either. But, he went to live full-time with his dad so that makes sense. Plus, he's going to be a junior this year so he needs to focus on school. It just sucks that she doesn't seen her best, oldest friend anymore.

"Your mom didn't tell you?" Derek asked sounding surprised. That doesn't sound like JJ. "The job your mom and I do, well I did, is dangerous and it kept interfering with my personal life. That was fine before, but now I have Savannah and Hank to think about, it wasn't fine anymore."

Callie replied cavalierly. "Mom has me, dad, Henry and Mike and she doesn't think about us."

Derek peers at his niece sadly. He always forgets how young Callie is. She may act all rough and tough, but deep down; she's still just a kid who wants her mom around. "Callie, your mom thinks about you and your dad and brothers all the time. There's nothing in this world that she loves more than her family, you kids especially." Something flickers over her eyes, it happens so fast that Derek would've missed it had he not been a profiler not too long ago. He pulls into his driveway. "Hey, what's going on in that head of yours?"

"Nothing," Callie shrugged.

"Your face doesn't look like it's nothing to me." Her uncle commented lightly. "Look, I know I'm not young like your friends kiddo, but I'm pretty good at giving advice. It wasn't too long ago that I was your age and I believed my parents and uncles and aunts didn't know anything either, but we know more than you'd think."

Callie responded quietly. "Alex is weird now, he isn't acting like himself." These days, the blonde teenager feels like she's the only one who has the patience for Alex. Aviva is too preoccupied with her family right now, Wyatt went out to his family, Grace is too sensitive, Mason acts…well he doesn't know how to act, and Belle is confused – she wants to help but she doesn't know how. Callie's the only one who actually gets it. She had been there with Alex, no one else had experienced what they experienced and no one ever will.

The man rubs the back of his neck, unsure of how to respond. This summer has been hell mainly dealing with the fact that their family has a new unofficial member, a fractured teenager. Now they're adding two more members into their circle, Nicholas Evan and Jacob Edward...Samuel Edward, but they're toddlers. Their father, sister, and surrogate mother will become distant, likely vague glimmers of a past they cannot recognize. Alex on the other hand is young enough to believe in hope yet old enough to recognize what he's lost can never come back again. Derek turns onto his street. "You haven't been acting like yourself either, but you and Alex; you guys saw some really horrible stuff. Alex more so than you and sometimes people may seem broken but they need help to fit the pieces back together again. I'm not saying Alex will ever be the way he was, because he won't, but maybe he'll be able to reach acceptance and adjust."

"Adjust?" Callie repeated sounding disappointed with his response.

"That's all of us can ever really do, we adjust to how life swings at us. It isn't the answer you want, but it's the only one I can give you. We take what happens to us and learn to live with it. Alex is learning a little earlier than he should have to but he's learning and adjusting." Her uncle pulls into the driveway cutting the gas and turning to the girl sadly. "For dinner tonight, Savannah and I wanted to do something special for dinner…to celebrate."

"Celebrate what?"

"Well, your sophomore year of high school."

Callie cringes. "Uncle D no one likes to celebrate that."

"Okay smart-ass, then I guess you won't want macaroni surprise." The uncle is trying his best to butter his niece up in the hope that she'll talk to him a bit more.

"Wait, what's going on?" The teenager is suspicious. People only offer that when they have bad news they know she doesn't want to hear, but have to tell her anyway. "Is this a trap? This feels like a trap. You're lulling me into a false sense of security, aren't you? Cause you and my parents only say we can have mac-n-cheese when something shitty is about to happen."

The uncle shoots her a look. "Watch your language. If your mom ever heard you swearing, she'd wash your mouth out so fast." He threatened using same old empty threat. "And uh, I know it's your favorite and I thought it'd be fun. Hank's excited to see you too." Derek pulls into their driveway.

"Somehow I doubt a seven month old is excited to see me, but I'd buy it if you said Auntie Savannah was excited to see me. Hey, do you think I could talk to her about seeing a surgery sometime? I wanna check out her doctor life and I feel like that'd be kinda awesome, except school sucks so…can I?" Callie questioned excitedly.

"You'd have to ask her." Before Derek can react, Callie is out of the car and running inside. She figures she's going to demand answers from the real person in charge. Derek puts the car in park and follows after his niece. At least some things are returning to normal. Callie being over-dramatic is one of the things; he's come to miss as of late…well until now. And to think last year, they only had two sons and Callie was trying to get the papers for her emancipation.

Here's hoping this year will be uneventful.

* * *

Spencer hesitates outside of his converted closet. He honestly doesn't know how to breach the topic of anything when it comes to Alex. Everyone has been more than willing to offer their suggestions, but nobody has been willing to actually be there to help him. The profile doesn't really think he'll need help. Alex is a good enough kid. He has his issues, but perhaps with counseling like Tara said; he can find himself again. She has the twins right now and they're no picnic either. Thus far, Nicholas has thrown-up twice and Ja...Samuel is refusing to eat which according to both JJ and Hotch is typical toddler behavior, especially in a new unfamiliar environment. Garcia has taken up residence in Tara's guest-bedroom.

Deciding not to longer any longer, Spencer knocks on the door to Alex's room and walks inside without waiting. "Are you excited for school? I understand sophomore year is important so I ah hope you're ready to learn." When Spencer was a sophomore in high school, he was about twelve; therefore speaking about his experiences back then may not transfer well.

"I guess." Alex shrugged. He just hopes no one looks at him too much.

Spencer nods feeling unsure once again. He's finding the feeling is annoying. Is this what everyone else feels like all the time? The profiler swallows. "Are you uh ready for bed? I mean you don't have to go to bed if you don't want to, but adolescents need approximately eight to ten hours of sleep each night. We're nearing the nine hour mark so you could wait another hour, but you should start going to err ah getting ready for bed."

"Uh will do." No one's told him to go to bed for years. Alex let's Agent Reid do this with little fuss out of fear of making it even more awkward. Agent Hotchner tried to impose a bedtime onto him, but that didn't work out too well considering he's here now. Also, Alex would stay up anyway – in the guest bedroom – watching Netflix and reading. Alex is finding sleep is something he should do more of, but is not doing for reasons that well suck. Every time he shuts his eyes, he feels Sophia's scarlet tinted blood stick to his fingers and Callie desperately telling him to stay awake. The boy often wonders what would have happened if he didn't follow her advice. Would he be dead now? Alex decides it doesn't really matter.

Reid studies him; concern etching his features. "You know, Alex, I want you to feel like you can come to me to talk if you want. I mean…well I'm a good listener and I-I do my best. I'll do my best to help okay?" Spencer replied not really asking a question that requires much of a response. He can understand how living with Hotch couldn't have been easy considering Aaron has found himself at a loss when it comes to Jack. The teen glances in his general direction and nods, taking pity on the profiler. "I was thinking maybe we could set up an appointment for you to see a therapist. Will and JJ spoke to Tanya, Callie's former social worker and she has some friends who–"

"No." Alex cut him off.

"It could help."

"I'm fine. I don't need anyone, okay? I just…I don't want to." There's a strangled disconnect in Alex's weak voice that causes Reid to immediately feel guilty for even bringing up the subject. It wasn't even his idea, Tara suggested it earlier today and Spencer sort of agreed. But, right now, he feels like a jerk. Alex added. "Don't make me."

Spencer waits a few moments before nodding reluctantly. He can't very well force Alex to go someplace he isn't emotionally ready for. "I would never make you go someplace you don't want to go. It was just a suggestion, nothing more. All right, well goodnight then."

"Night, Agent Reid." Alex reverts back to using the formalities. He plops down on the bed, surprised once again by how comfortable it actually is. "Thanks for letting me stay here."

"I want you here Alex." Spencer promised knowing this may be the first time anyone has ever told him that. Hotch did his best to make Alex feel comfortable, but there was only so much he could do without putting Jack out and sometimes family trumps everything else. The man pauses at the door. "We're friends and as I've told you before, Alex, you can call me Spencer."

For the first time in months, Alex smiles softly. "Thanks, Spencer."

* * *

JJ rubs her brow wearily as she feels her husband slide into bed next to her on his spot. She can already feel the lines of worry invade her forehead. God, she's going to look like ten years older soon. "We've been working too much." She murmured quietly and albeit very guiltily.

"What makes yah say that?" Will asked.

His wife sits upright and turns to him almost as though he has grown another head. "The look on our children's faces when I told them I had to leave for a case tomorrow." She still couldn't believe how brokenhearted Henry and Callie seemed afterwards; it was like she murdered a puppy in front of them or something. She might as well have, especially Henry, thus far; she's never missed the first day of school. Callie tried to pretend she wasn't hurt, but she was. She huffed noisily before heading off to her one sanctuary; her bedroom. JJ suspected she went into her closet, for some reason, her only daughter likes disappearing in there.

"Cher–"

"Callie barely looked at me after and Henry wouldn't let me kiss him goodnight." There's a soft somberness in JJ's tone that let's Will know she was really hurt by these outward displays. Yet at the same time, JJ understands where they're coming from. She gets it. They're only hurt and they're punishing her in their own childish way because they are children and that's how they function in certain situations.

"That don't mean they don't love yah. They're just upset. We're working parents. We like to work. It keeps us from going crazy and ending up like those fun people on the News." Will sits down on the bed clearly worried. "Yah know; I prefer a working woman." His wife raises an eyebrow at him causing the husband to blush. "That sounded way better in my head. You're an amazing momma, Cher. The kids love you; they're just upset is all. They'll get over it."

The blonde sighed. "I hate that I'm the one making them upset."

"Well, it's my turn next week." He joked causing JJ to roll her eyes with a slight hint of a smile ghosting her features at the amusement entering his tone.

"You aren't funny."

Will raises his eyebrows and reaches over to tickle her side. "Then why're you smiling?"

JJ rolls her eyes trying and failing to stop grinning. "I just wish we could be there more." She admitted as the smile starts to falter. "They're growing up so fast; Callie's giving us that look of disappointment, Henry's not as forgiving and Mike's going to start noticing when we can't always show up at all of his stuff."

"Michael's one and a half. Let's worry more about that, when he's two." Will said giving her an easy grin, since this is Natalie's last year at college; her course-load is definitely going to be heavier meaning they're going to have to adjust to what once was a flexible schedule. She's given them some numbers of her friends who could pick up her slack if need be.

"You know what I mean." JJ responded feeling her anger rise.

"I do," he responded. "How do yah think Callie's coping? She hardly touched her dinner."

JJ closes her eyes doing her best to muster up some form of patience. She isn't upset with Will or anything; she's just upset with the situation itself. "I know, but Tanya says it's important for Callie to do this at her own pace. We can't force her to do anything."

"Little lady's too much like her momma that way. Derek told me she didn't stay long at Reid's when they dropped Alex's stuff off today." The male appears uncomfortable. "You don't think something happened between them, like a fight or something uh more than friendly like you know…the reason she and Sean are broke up."

"Never, he's like a brother to her." The mom shakes her head. She could never see anything of the romantic nature going on between those two. However, another matter has been bugging her. "But I do think they're becoming too co-dependent on each other."

"Is that wrong though? The two went through something awful."

JJ shakes her head. "No, it's not wrong." Alex and Callie have developed an incredible bond. It is as though with Sophia passing and Ben moving in full-time with Jack and Angela, they've decided to fill sibling roles for one another. "I worry that if they only rely on each other then, what that'll mean for us and their other friends?"

"They haven't shut out their other pals yet." At least, Will doesn't think his daughter has. She and Aviva are still as thick as thieves, and is trying to stay connected. Alex is the other side of the coin, whatever affected him that night was something awful.

"Alex has tried, but I don't think Callie's letting him." JJ scoffed chuckling to herself. From what she's profiled, she can tell that Callie is trying to ensure that Alex doesn't let himself become too disconnected. It was very disheartening to see him with the twins today…Nicky and ah Samuel seemed like they wanted to cling to him, but he wasn't into it. Another thing that's bothering JJ is the fact that the Jacobs are changing Jacob's name. With everything that's happened, he's confused enough as it is, is it necessary to change his name too? Reid has said it's their way of coping with the traumatic event, but it can't be healthy.

"Good. That's my Troublemaker." Will is proud of her, not too long ago Callie would have been leading the charge on when it came to shutting her parents/guardians out for no reason. "Hold up, you don't think they'll shut us out, do yah?"

"I don't think Callie will. She trusts us, but Alex – he hardly knows us. I think he's already found a way to shut us out without us even knowing or noticing. My fear…actually fears are that it's too late to help Alex and that Callie thinks she's the only one who can." JJ stated quietly, somehow Callie has gotten it into her head that she can't be hurt. She and Will are trying to break her of this notion, but they have yet to succeed.

"And if I know Callie, I know whatever Alex wants to do; she'll go along with it." Will can already tell the pair is cooking up something to keep them on their toes. He chances a glance at his wife and winces. Rolling onto his side, he lands a peck to her worried lips. "I've got it all covered, Cher. You drive the kids to school tomorrow and Natalie will pick them up and get them all set for dinner. I'm feeling pizza." JJ smiles warmly at him realizing just how lucky she is to have a man like her husband be her husband. She wraps her arms around him kissing him a heap more patiently than he did. Will's eyes become wide. "Cher, the kids–"

"Are asleep and our door is locked."

Will smirks and deepens the kiss back. "Oh, why didn't yah say that sooner?"

* * *

"We never have anything to eat around here."

"Oh aren't you're grumpy this morning." JJ hummed finding that today is a great, no beautiful day. Despite there being rain invading the world and Callie's sour-puss face, she's happy. That could be due to the amazing sex she had last night or the fact that they have enough eggs for everyone. "Hold on, I'm making scrambled eggs."

"I don't like eggs." Callie declared causing her mother to roll her eyes. So, today her teenage daughter is deciding to push her luck because she's still pissed about her leaving…fair enough. JJ's going to give her the benefit of the doubt and let this ride out.

"Since when?" JJ sighed turning to face her eldest child with warning laced in her tone. She catches her husband's eye in the door to the kitchen. He's giving Henry a kiss goodbye, which is standard behavior given it's a Monday and her turn to drive the kids to school; first he kisses Henry, then Michael, and last Callie. The mother doesn't know why, but figures it has to do with Will liking to mess up Callie's blonde curls. "You need to eat something, baby – and I don't mean a granola bar." She snatches it out of her hand. "I'm not in the mood for dramatics today; either eat the eggs I'm making or have cereal, but this won't do."

"We're out of the cereal I like." She wretches open the cabinet. Her gaze turns into an even bigger scowl as she locks eyes with Henry who accepts her challenge. "How come we're never out of the cereal Henry likes?"

Henry supplied. "Because, I don't eat as much as you."

"Shut up, Henry." Callie grumbled plopping down in her 'assigned' chair beside him anyway.

"Shut up! Shut up!" Michael chanted from his booster seat as JJ shoots the blushing blonde teen a look. Fantastic, here's another word Michael's going to say at daycare today.

"No thank you, Mikey. We don't say that word." The mom corrects her sixteen month old and gently taps his hand causing the little boy to nod. Mommy's using the serious voice she uses with Callie and Henry. JJ grins, satisfied and glances at Callie, folding her arms over her chest for good measure. Part of the teen expects her mother to go all pissed off crazy on her. JJ goes over to her and takes Callie's hand giving it a tap. "No thank you, Caroline. We don't say that word." She stated smirking at the girl's confused yet oddly enough embarrassed face.

Callie swallows nervously. "Fuck, I mean fudge…yeah, sorry mom,"

"Watch your language babe or I'll come home with a bar of soap." JJ threatened feeling as though her willingness to let this attitude ride out vanish right before her eyes.

The teenager huffs, this totally isn't fair. She's always the one who gets in trouble, no matter what. Henry's their perfect little golden child and Mikey is too little to be anything yet. She mumbles a sorry to her brother who sticks out his tongue in defense. JJ pinches the bridge of her nose. She turns her attention back onto the stove as her husband ruffles Callie's hair.

"Be good for mama, Trouble."

Henry's excited chatter breaks Callie away from her thoughts. "I get to be in the fair this weekend." He bragged yet again causing Callie to roll her eyes and bite the insides of her cheeks. One of his new friends from camp got him into Boy Scouts and now, once every four weeks they get to have six rowdy eight year olds here. Callie conveniently has made herself scarce those days.

"Get to? Are you sure you didn't lose a bet?" Callie teased earning a glare from her mother.

JJ pinches her daughter's side as she sets a plate of eggs down for her eldest son. Callie squirms in her chair, that actually kind of hurt…but not enough for it to count. "You look very handsome, Bubs."

"You look like a dork." His sister smirked into her glass of orange juice. JJ shakes her head; obviously she didn't pinch her daughter hard enough.

"I do not, dad!" Henry's eyes bug out. Will turns to his son. He was almost out the door; all he had was a few more feet left before he could escape this fight and be safely at the precinct. Henry points to his sister angrily. "Callie called me a dork."

"I didn't call you a dork. I said you looked like one. There's a difference." Callie said sounding exasperated by her brother's stupidity as though being eight was his fault. She folds her arms across her chest wondering what the hell is wrong with her. She wasn't this pissed off until she really thought about what today means. She has to worry about Alex being the new-Alex and getting in trouble…or worse, him skipping school. He's talked a lot about ditching today and Callie knows he's going to expect her to ditch with him and she will if he asks because if she doesn't then she's the jerk who let her messed-up friend go off on his own. But, then her dad will ground her for years if she does that; it's a catch twenty-two.

Will glances at his wife who shakes her head. He folds his arms across his chest and orders wearily. "Caroline, don't tease your brother." The father hopes the fact that he's using her full-name rather than a nickname will yank her out of this funk she's in.

"Even if it's true?" Callie's eyes are dancing.

"Especially then," Will commented; wishing his daughter would show some compassion towards her little brother and his obvious nerdy attire. It isn't Henry's fault he looks like a dork. The glasses scream Superman, although, Callie's going to need glasses soon or rather that's what her doctor said earlier this month. Only, his daughter is already refusing to comply with the good doctor's wishes. According to her she looks like a creepy librarian when she wears glasses…Will's going to let JJ take that argument. He figures since he's taking on this week's arguments she can take on that particular one.

Callie shrugged. "Whatever, it's like you guys want him to get beat up."

"He's not going to get beat up." JJ shoots her daughter a glare. A part of her is considering April's whole spanking dilemma, only she doesn't actually believe in it. The whole spanking thing itself is a quick-fix; it only works for a few seconds before the bad behaviors return. But, right now, spanking seems more promising than talking whatever the hell Callie's really upset over out. "Bubs, don't listen to her. You won't get beat up."

"You're old mom. You don't remember what kids are like, but that's okay cause you get to have a gun." The blonde teenager explained as Henry glances between his parents and sister hoping beyond hopes that she's wrong. On his part, Mike appears bored with the conversation. He can't wait until he's let out of this high-chair like Henry and Callie; daddy says he'll be big enough for a real chair soon and mommy agrees, so it's gonna happen.

"Did you just insult and compliment me in the same sentence?" Her mother questioned sternly causing Callie to shrink a bit in her chair. She can tell she's beginning to push her mother too far. JJ lands a soft kiss to her head surprising Callie. "I'll have you know child of mine that I know a few things about kids being that I have three of them; two of whom are behaving and my third is this close to taking things too far."

The brown haired father remarked somewhat seriously. "Maybe even four someday."

Callie's excitement outshines Henry's clear displeasure. "Are you guys gonna have another kid? Hey wait, if you had a girl that'd be awesome." That causes her little brother to groan. He can barely handle having one sister, two would be crappy. He likes how things are. He has one brother and one sister; one of each. Maybe it'd be okay to have another little brother, but not another girl. "Aren't there doctors that can make the baby whatever gender you want? You should look into that cause if you had one like soon then it wouldn't look that weird if I took her out in public. I mean people would think it was mine if you waited any longer."

"Thanks for that, Will." JJ muttered to her husband who sighs, okay so suggesting that he wants a fourth right now was bad timing, but he wants a fourth kid. What's so wrong about that? "Callie," JJ sighed feeling tired. "Sweets, your dad and I need to talk about that more in private. For now, don't tease your brother."

"I'm only trying to help him." Somehow both parents seriously doubt that. "Kids act different around adults, but once you turn around – bam!" Callie likes scaring Henry way too much for it to be legal. JJ doesn't remember Ross or Danny being this mean to her. "They attack."

The nearly eight year olds eyes are as wide as saucers. "Is that true?" Henry demanded wondering if it's too late to go upstairs and change before someone attacks.

"Of course not," the father vowed and purses his lips. He doesn't want to be made a liar by a bratty group of eight year olds who like picking on boys who do sort of nerdy activities. The dad frowns and as a light bulb goes off in his head, he looks at Callie. "Well, if it is, then I expect you, Caroline to stay near Henry and make sure nothing of the sort happens." That nearly causes his daughter's mouth to hit the floor.

"No way, there's stuff I wanna do too you know." Callie snapped back. It sometimes feels like she's the one who has to watch the boys or be the one who has to act like an adult, but the minute she does; she's back getting treated like a kid again. It makes no fucking sense. Henry looks hurt too. Callie hadn't meant to do that, it's just not fair sometimes. "I get that I'm not the favorite, but I'm not wasting my Saturday babysitting the squirt."

JJ feels a headache coming on. "Knock it off, you know we love you guys the same and all that jazz. Now you'll watch Henry until he finds his group leader then and only then can you hang out with your friends."

Callie folds her arms over her chest. "Why do I always have to watch Henry?" She ignores the hurt look that forms on her little brother's face. It isn't that she doesn't like babysitting Henry, but it feels as though sometimes that's all her parents really expect out of her; free babysitting when Natalie isn't around.

"Because you're his sister," Will replied not understanding what's so wrong here.

"Why don't we talk about this later? We're going to be late." JJ checks her watch. If she's late for dropping off Henry, then his teacher is going to think she's one of those lazy moms. Out of her children, Henry cares more about school than Callie, who appears almost excited with being late.

Callie sassed. "By talk you mean you guys are just gonna tell me what you wanna do and I'm just gonna hafta do it." Her deep sapphire blue eyes are narrowing.

"That sounds about right to me." Her father shrugged. He's already late for his shift, but lucky for him, they've got no cases that need attention and are only looking over some cold cases in the area. His partner will likely cover for him if worse comes to worse, but his boss Alicia is real understanding most of the time.

"You're his parents. Why can't you do it?"

"Don't get sassy now, Caroline." Will warned deciding he doesn't like her tone. "You know momma has a case, I'm working a double, and that afternoon Natalie has to help her grandma our." The college senior cleared it with them about a week ago – with her grandmother being riddled with Alzheimer's – and needing constant care, Natalie's had to help out even more with her family. On more than one occasion, she's had to have her younger half-brother Tyler come over for a bit. As far as toddler's go he's a pretty well-behaved little boy, but Natalie felt really guilty about it afterwards.

JJ peers at him. She asked. "You are?"

"Yeah, I've been missing too many days Cher." Will explained as his wife nods wishing things could be different, but they're both working parents who like their jobs.

"I'm not watching him. Get Natalie to do it." Callie ordered crossing her arms and setting her terms all at once. She regrets her tone almost instantly after she says it, because her mother gives her such a scathing look…one that Callie hasn't seen since she ventured to the courthouse to get emancipated about a year ago.

The blonde profiler considered phoning one of Natalie's friends, but in that moment; Callie's tone has changed her mind altogether. "That's enough! You can spend half an hour helping your brother find his group." Henry perks up at the thought of Callie being his protector. If anyone dares mess with him, Callie would knock them out. She told him so when he came home once after Michelle O'Leary punched him. He couldn't punch her back; he's not allowed to hit girls. There are laws against that sort of stuff, his daddy told him so.

"This is such bullshit." Callie grumbled under her breath. She wanted to go to the hole with her friends that day, not go to some lame park where only nerds and babies hangout.

"Watch it or I'll sign you up for…" JJ has to think, Callie's too old for Girl Scouts. "For Pep Squad," JJ vowed biting back a grin at Callie's shocked face. Hmm, maybe that punishment will work for more things in the future; the mother has already decided to backlog that as one for later events.

The blonde teenager is quick to remark. "Only bitches join pep squad."

"Isn't Kayla in Pep Squad?" Will asked deciding now he really has to go.

Callie shrugged. "I rest my case."


	23. Don't Dream It's Over

Again, I apologize for not publishing as frequently before. To answer a reviewer's question, no I am not 35. I'm still a student in school which makes writing stuff up and uploading kind of difficult sometimes. I will do my best to upload more frequently. I have some ideas as to where I want to go with this story. This takes place at Sick Day.

* * *

Chapter 23- Don't Dream it's over

* * *

Callie, Henry, and Mikey – their names as well as their faces resound in her head. Blinking, JJ tries to refocus only to find her mind drifting back to being trapped in the fire enclosed room. The sound of screaming ripples in her eardrums as JJ mindlessly stares out the window.

That is, until the sound of Luke's voice breaks her out of her trance. "Hey," Luke studies her with an underlying concern etching onto his features.

"Hey," JJ said absentmindedly.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, yeah," she waves him off feeling pangs of pain shoot down her charred wrist.

Luke raises his eyebrows, not believing her. "You sure?" The way he says that causes a strange, almost strangled look to flash across JJ's eyes.

JJ moves her gauge covered hand. "Well, you know this. This hurts like hell, but yeah, yeah I'm good." The lie doesn't nearly taste as bitter as it did when she told Spencer that earlier. Maybe, it's because she and Spencer are more like family than she and Luke. Spencer's like the little brother she never had and well…at the moment Luke is relatively new to their little family.

He asked. "You need anything?"

"No, I'm okay." The blonde profiler forces out a grin. It hurts to smile. She can't even imagine why she's trying to force herself to smile right now; it won't change anything.

"Water? Tea?" He offered nodding his head to the back of the jet. "I saw some microwave popcorn back there."

JJ shakes her head patiently at him. He reminds her a bit of Callie when she's flustered. "Really, I'm…I'm fine."

"You don't look fine." The man decides to shoot straight with her. "You know, I've seen you look fine. " He gestures to her facial expression and haunted blue eyes. "That's not it." Luke sucks in his cheeks, feeling grateful he has Roxy to come home to. "I know I'm the new guy and everything, but uh, I'm here if you need me."

"Listen, I just…I just need my own bed. That's all." At least that part is true; JJ is craving her bed and her husband and her children too. They could bunk together like they did after the incident with Hotch getting arrested in front of them. Although, Callie distanced herself a bit after that…JJ understood, they all shared an extremely intimate moment together as a family and it freaked her out. She's getting better; she's growing increasingly more open to outward displays of affection. JJ can tell she likes it too.

"All right, if you want to talk; I'm around." The way he sees it, talking to a stranger is easier than to family. With strangers, they don't know you well enough to judge you. Luke knows he's by no means close to anyone on the team yet. If anything, Luke is closest to Garcia which is saying something because she despises him.

"Hey Luke," JJ said feeling guilty for brushing him off. He turns to glance back at her with that somber pitying look he has painted on his face. "Um…thank you…for what you did."

Luke nods shrugging. "You don't need to thank me. We're a team."

* * *

The sound of running water is all JJ hears the minute she steps into her home. A part of her expected for at least, Callie to be put watching T.V. or something. She's done that before; waited up for JJ to come home or if Will was working a double then she'd wait for him. Both parents have long since stopped trying to get her to go to bed and their college junior nanny advised them to let it ride out. Natalie often did the same when her mother worked a midnight shift at the hospital. Going upstairs, JJ tiptoes into her room where Will is just coming out of their bathroom holding a sleeping Michael in his arms.

"Will," JJ whispered. Her husband shushes her as steam rushes past both of them. His hair is damp with sweat and he looks absolutely wrecked. "Why is the shower running?"

"Shh, shh, shh…" Will shushes him when Michael begins to fuss at the sound of JJ's voice. "It's okay. It's all right, bud." He bounces their youngest in his arms. "It's okay, it's okay, it's all right." With that, Will brings Mike into his room and gently places the boy into his crib, backing out of there as quietly as he can. If he does this just right, then the one year old won't wake up.

JJ waits until he's in the hall again to say. "Babe, it's three in the morning."

"What happened to your hand?" Will doesn't know where she's coming from with that. He peers down at the white cast on her hand with worry forming in his eyes.

"What's going on?" JJ ignores his question altogether. "Why are you up?"

Will responded. "Mike's sick. He's got the croup." He has a gut feeling it came from the Flannery boy in his class at daycare, but he doesn't have any conclusive evidence to support it. Besides that Eli Flannery was leaking like a rusty pipe and out of school for about a week.

"Oh no," the mother groaned. She can bet dealing with Michael being sick and the other two can't have been very easy on her husband. She suddenly frowns realizing he didn't call her, Callie didn't even call her. When they spoke on the phone, she said everything was fine.

"Yeah, it's pretty bad."

The blonde profiler questioned. "Why didn't you call me?"

Her husband frowns in response and tilts his head to the side. "I've been busy with the trio."

"Do Callie and Henry have it too?" JJ hopes they don't. Based on the whole, from the whole heart monitor ordeal she knows that her daughter is a terrible patient; she refuses to take it easy and pushes herself. Henry is the exact opposite; he gets super affectionate as a way of getting rid of his cold faster which is a trait he picked up from Will.

"No." Will responded quickly, before backtracking. Callie has been sniffling a bit and Henry's forehead felt a tiny bit feverish this morning, but the dad wasn't totally convinced he didn't put a hot compress to his head. Callie's taught him way too many of her tricks as of late. "No, not yet anyway, come on."

The mother bear in her is quick to ask. "Did you call the doctor?"

"Of course I did." A flash of hurt dances across Will's gentle green eyes, almost as though he's insulted by the notion that he'd let his own son stay sick.

"Well, what did he say? Did he prescribe anything?" JJ pressed, not picking up on his tone.

"Just steam showers, cool night air, and watch his breath." Her husband informed crossing his arms. "Oh, and some ibuprofen for the fever and pain."

"When did this happen?"

Will leans against the wall. "Well, he started going south last night, but tonight the cough's pretty bad. You'll be proud to know that our little girl was a huge help. She made dinner and even put Henry to bed." Granted, the dinner she made was macaroni but it took a weight off Will's shoulders. "I think she did something, I'm just not sure what; either that or she's trying to butter us up."

"Babe, you should have told me Michael was sick."

"Why? So you could worry while you were on a case?" He was going to tell JJ tonight if she didn't come back and even, well advised Callie and Henry not to tell momma about Mikey being sick. Although, Henry tends to babble about his own issues rather than his brother; Callie would've given her a run-down. "There's nothing you could have done."

JJ shakes her head. "It doesn't matter. You should have called me."

"You don't think I can handle it?"

"I didn't say that." There's regret laced in her tone, but anger as well. If it had been Will and he was on a case; she wouldn't have called him either.

"Then what are you saying?" Will demanded in a loud whisper. Instead of answering, his wife turns and begins to stomp away. "Hey, where you going?"

"To sit with him," JJ snapped back. "The doctor said to watch his breathing, right?"

Rarely, if ever, does Jennifer Jareau snap at anyone. Will uncrosses his arms and peers at the love of his life. There's something going on. "The monitor's are on. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just…can I please take care of my son?" The defeated bite in JJ's tone let's Will know she just went through some sort of hell. If it were Callie, he'd guide her into the kitchen and make her fess up. Actually, Callie probably would've wandered into her closet – she does that. For some strange reason, Callie LaMontange believes closets' are her safe place. Neither parent understands it, but at least she isn't running off as much anymore; progress is progress.

"He's sleeping. Trust me; you don't want to wake him up." The husband advised. "JJ, come on, look at me." She avoids eye contact, a trait their eldest children have inherited. "What is it? What's going on?" Upon seeing his wife's face, Will sighs. "You want to talk about it?" By the way she sucks in her cheeks, Will reckons; she doesn't. "Well, you know we have to, right? Remember what Tanya said; no holding it in, ever. We bring it home, we gotta get it out." Something flashes across her eyes. "It was kids, wasn't it?" JJ nods wordlessly feeling tears tinge her eyes. "Yeah, come here." He wraps his arms around her. "Listen, I'm gonna go downstairs and put some coffee on so we can talk. You can check on Hen and Cal." Will always has to check in on his little monsters whenever he's had a tough case. "Okay?"

"Okay," JJ murmured softly.

"You all right?" Will dared to ask, earning a feeble shrug in return. "We're not gonna get much sleep tonight anyway." He kisses her. "I'm glad you're back, babe." She murmurs in agreement.

Due to his room being closer, JJ went to Henry first. She kissed his blonde head and watched him sleep for a few minutes. He looks so peaceful when he's asleep. Lately, Henry has taken to being the jokester in class which unfortunately his idol has done very little to dissuade. At least, he's still involved in Boy Scouts. That was one thing they told Callie not to talk him out of.

The mother hesitates before entering her girl's room. She and Francesca were around the same age. Although, Francesca was more girly than Callie; it doesn't change the fact that a little girl near daughter's age is dead. She bites her lip as she watches Callie breathe in and out looking so content with the world. It always amazes JJ how Callie can appear so at peace yet at the same time has gone through a shit storm. JJ mats down her wild curls before landing a kiss to her temple. She loves all of her children equally. She hopes to God they know that. Will and her have tried to treat them all the same, but they aren't the same. When parenting three very different children, three very different approaches must be taken.

"I love you to the moon and back, sweets." JJ whispered before tiptoeing over to the window and making sure the mini-door is locked and the curtains are drawn. Maybe, they should have Callie move to an upstairs bedroom. Surely, they could convert this room into a guest bedroom and the room upstairs into a room for Callie rather than having her down here. The only problem is Callie seems to like being down here, Reid explained how it's all about the girl maintaining a similar sense of freedom she once had. The mother quietly exits her fifteen year olds bedroom and shuts the door behind her.

Callie's blue eyes open blearily at the sound of her bedroom door squeaking shut and her mom vacating down the corridor. That was kind of incredibly weird, even for her mother. Frowning, Callie tosses the covers aside and squints up . Her parents are without a doubt the strangest people she's ever met. Scratch that living with Alma Bertram was the weirdest placement, Alma was in her sixties and enjoyed creating masterpieces out of garbage. The only reason she didn't keep Callie was because she got Alzheimer's. Tanya decided it would be in everyone's best interest for them to be split up and Alma's adult son, Vincent, agreed. If Callie thought about it, the only bad placement she ever had was with the Dalton's. The others weren't bad. Her first home with the Rhett's decided to give her back to have their own kids. Her second placement, the Borden's who tried to adopt her except DCFS refused to let Grant Borden. Pete and Jenna McCall was more of a group home, but it was still nice. Then, there was the Dalton's when she was nine to ten. Alma's came next and Callie stayed there for about three years. After Alma, Callie stayed with the Conrad's for ten months before trying to find her birth parents. Really though, she's had more good homes than bad.

Trying to refocus her thoughts, Callie tiptoes out of bed and puts on her socks. As per Tasha's advice, wearing socks when doing something sneaky is better than letting your bare feet smack against the floor. Callie tiptoes down the hall seeing the silhouette of her mom's shadow enter the kitchen where her father is no-doubt waiting…with coffee. Yeah, Callie smells coffee. Huh, they still don't think she should have any because apparently it'll stunt her growth and according to her father she needs all the help she can get.

"How's that hand?" Will dared to ask.

"Kills," JJ admitted as she stares down at the wound almost in awe of the pain herself.

"What'd you do to it?" Will asked causing Callie to frown outside. She has half a mind to look to see what her mother's hand looks like, but that'll mean her cover would be blown. Thus, causing her parents to inevitably lecture her on eavesdropping and send her to bed.

JJ replied, "Burned it." Callie shudders at the memory of Mr. Dalton burning her with his cigar and without realizing it; she runs her thumb over the old wound. It has long since become a wrinkled old scar, but the flesh has curled into itself resembling a dried-up pink raisin. There's a long silence after that comment and Callie can't help but quickly check to make sure they haven't left or haven't caught her. Her father is setting out a spoon and leaning against the island. "You want me to sit there?" Her mom smirked groaning slightly as she scoots into the chair and lifts the spoon to stir her tea. "Well, we were on our way back from Seattle."

"Right," Will nods. He remembers how disappointed the kids were when they found out mom wouldn't be coming home as soon as they all thought. Natalie collected the kids from school and Callie stepped up more, by ordering or even prepping to make dinner some nights. Mikey got sick and Henry started acting out in class. Oddly enough, Callie managed to stay out of trouble and behave herself which is a miracle in itself. Will suspects she wants something, but is waiting until they're both home to demand, or rather ask, for it. "The spree killer with the assault rifle."

"Yeah, that's when we got the call."

Callie's never heard her mother talk about a case before. The teen can feel the insides of her stomach churn up in disgust as the gritty details unravel. She's seen some shitty crap in her life, but no one has ever been burned alive in front of her. Sophia's death…well Sophia's death wasn't in front of her. It's not like she saw Mr. Karvelle shoot her, not like Alex did. But, hearing about this – the kind of stuff she's always wanted to know – it isn't measuring up exactly to what she thought her mom did. Callie closes her eyes wishing she could burst into the kitchen, but then she'd be grounded or worse; a lecture. She suddenly wishes she had her phone to text Alex and Aviva, except she stupidly left her phone in her room. And Callie knows for a fact that if she gets up or even slightly moves, she'll make some sort of sound.

Will waits until his wife is finished before asking. "So what did you think?"

"Definitely the same guy," JJ determined as Callie frowns silently asking why.

"Why?" Her father asks for her.

"MO was too similar, geography was too close." The blonde profiler explained as Will does his best to hide a slight grin, he was thinking the same thing but for this to work; he has to know JJ's mental process. "And when we got to the crime scene, we knew."

The more Callie hears about what happened, the more she wants to run away. She wants to run into the kitchen and tell her mom she's sorry. Her toes tingle with the urge. Never did she ever think this was her mother's job. She thought JJ saved people before they got killed. The fact that her mom hunted down a maniac who got his rocks off watching kids near her age burn to death…well it's disgusting. And Callie really can't believe how casual her dad is acting… _do they talk about this sort of thing often?_ Callie wondered.

"You get anything from the coroner?" Will asked as the teenager purses her lips trying to hear them better, but they're speaking much more softly now and that's fucking things up.

"Um, uh Max Wasserman's body was virtually incinerated, but um, I guess the fire department arrived before Hannah Robertson's body was completely destroyed."

The slight intake of her dad's breath, Callie can hear it even here. She doesn't know if it is his breath that's gasping or hers. The fifteen year old runs her finger over the cigar burn again. It doesn't even resemble a burn too much anymore, or maybe that's what Callie has convinced herself. Callie's always wanted to know about their cases, but…but this is intense. How her parent's do this every day is amazing, for once, Henry may be right; they are heroes.

"So, did you get an exact cause of death?" Her father's voice brings Callie back to the conversation and she strains to hear her mother's response.

"Um, based on the amount of smoke inhalation we knew that he burned those kids alive; all four of them." JJ rubs the side of her face feeling exhausted. "Um, you know what?" She starts to stand wearily. "Uh, can…can we please do this in the morning?" The blonde gets up from the chair causing Callie to swallow. The girl wants to move, but knows deep down when she does; she'll inevitably end up making some sort of sound. "I'm really tired."

Will walks over to her. "JJ–"

"I'm exhausted." Callie's eyes widen as JJ's voice nears the door, but she's frozen. The teenager hopes her mom gets away from the door or else she'll be in so much trouble.

"You can't go to sleep with this in your head. It's not healthy." Will takes her hand. "You've gotta get it out. You have to." He's almost pleading with her. The last time she came home this broken, she didn't do anything about it and it almost broke them. "And I just had two cups of coffee, so neither one of us is gonna sleep." He guides her back down "Come on, come on."

"Well, um…we did what we always do. We coordinated with the police to canvass every part of the area. We covered every single of our victimology by interviewing family members and friends. We looked everywhere for a connection between these victims, but there…there was nothing. So we issued a statement to the press to alert for the public. We were hoping that someone out there knew something. We have no leads, so anything would have helped." JJ runs a hand through her long blonde hair. "The forensic teams were stumped because of all the fire damage; our profile was developing, but the guy was in the wind. A couple of days went by, and to tell you the truth, I lost hope." Callie pulls a face. Usually, her mom is the one professing about everyone needing to keep the faith. "A guy like that might get quiet because he knows we're getting close, but he wouldn't be able to contain his urges; not for long." She shakes her head. "But…the case cooled off and we all thought he went dormant again, he needed time to plan his next kills." JJ even recalls them gearing to leave again. "But, we were wrong."

Urges…hearing JJ talk like this makes Callie wonder about if her mom can tell if someone is good or bad straight off. She frowns wondering if her mom is able to know her urges or plans even before she tries to get away with them. Honestly, Callie has never thought about her mother in this light before. She sounds so much…she doesn't sound like mom.

"Francesca Morales, sixteen years old…only a year older than…" JJ breaks off as Callie feels a strangled discomfort tie knots in her. "Broad daylight, no witnesses; nothing. Now, I'll never understand how that happens. It's a huge city. I mean everyone's on their camera phones and no one sees a sixteen year old girl, go missing?" The thought of Callie going missing in broad daylight on a suburban street sends shivers down JJ's spine.

"It happens, babe." Will commented. This is why; they refuse to let Callie go anywhere unless she's in a group of three or more. There are power in numbers. "Yah know; Callie's safe, right down the hall. You can peak in on her if you–" Michael begins coughing and Callie sprints to the corner couch where Henry goes whenever they're playing hide-and-seek. It's probably the most obvious spot to look, but for some reason; no one ever looks there.

"I gotta go…" JJ leaps out of the chair and into action.

"Just sit down, just relax." Will soothed.

She snapped angrily. "Will! Will, let me go look after him okay?" The worry is radiating off her as she stomps out of the kitchen. The profiler stops abruptly peering around; something feels off, somehow. Regardless, JJ continues upstairs where Michael's coughs turn into cries.

Callie's never heard her mother talk to dad like that. They're usually always going all goo-goo with each other. Hiding behind the couch, Callie brings her knees to her chest hoping her knees don't cramp up and then realizing it doesn't even matter. There is so much else bigger crap in the world then her cramping knees. She hears footsteps from the kitchen and then descending one's as her parent's meet in the middle. Callie can tell they've met somewhere, except she can't exactly place where and she sure as shit isn't going to peek out. She's ballsy, but she doesn't have a death wish.

"He still has a fever." Her mother's voice is soft, kind of like how it was when they were in the hospital all those months ago. Callie remembers feeling nervous because of that. She scared her mom that night. She'd never actually frightened anyone before that day.

"Well, we can give him some more medicine in a couple hours." Will's compromise lingers in the air.

JJ shakes her head, "That cough though."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Callie's father chuckles and shifts on the step. "The first time he barked like that, I thought we were headed to the ER"

"Sorry," JJ realized feeling guilt crash into her like a freight train. She just leaves Will to deal with everything at home and it really isn't fair. There are times when they're both gone which causes either Natalie or Garcia to step in, but it's more or less JJ who's the one leaving.

"About what?"

"Snapping at you," she murmured wishing things could be different but at the same time…she doesn't. JJ loves her job too much to give it up and stay at home all day. "I know it's hard when I'm not here and it's probably harder when I am here too."

Will laughed. "I love you too." He wraps an arm around her shoulder pulling her close and just breathes her in. "So, what happened next? Assuming you all issued an Amber alert."

"Mm, yeah, right away," JJ nods wishing they didn't have to talk about it. But, understanding why they do. Tanya's right. If they bring a tough case home, they can't just ignore it or else they'll fester and eventually erupt like a volcano.

"And what was your profile?"

"Uh, he was accelerating, getting confident and bold…and based on the victimology and physical effort it would take to execute his MO, we thought it was a white man between twenty-five and thirty-five." JJ declared causing Callie's face to scrunch up in confusion. How can they just know what age the bad guy is? She squints as she goes over the facts herself. She comes up with zilch that could even allow her to guess the guy's age.

Sadistic pyromaniac…Callie memorizes the word to look up later. She knows pyromaniacs are people, who like fire, but sadistic is like one of those words that have lots of definitions. The sophomore is pretty sure it means a really awful person. Like, Mr. Dalton, but he was a drunken asshole who took the Bible way too seriously. Or at least, that's what Bug used to say. She sighs quietly at the sound of her parent's making their way back into the kitchen. _Jesus Christ, pick a freaking spot._ Callie waits a few seconds before poking her head out from behind the couch and heaving a sigh of relief upon seeing no one out there anymore. Her knees let out a light crack as she slides back to the door where she had been sitting before, yawning.

"We had LAPD double their patrols. The fire department was on high alert, but this guy moved around a lot; all over Southern California and he could have been anywhere." JJ stated biting her lip. "So, in the meantime, we talked to the family." She shudders, that has to be the worst part of the job. Talking to families. Will nods in agreement. He can't imagine anything worse than talking to a grieving kid or family member. "You know, it's funny. I used to do that all the time, you know, talk to families. But, ever since we had kids, the worst part of the job, hands down." JJ has never admitted that out loud before. The blonde sighs angrily. "Actually, I used to think I was helping those people."

"You are helping those people." Will promised as he takes her hand.

"Her name is Renee; single mom, registered nurse." His wife said. She doesn't know how she could do it alone. "Her husband, Tony, was killed in Afghanistan six years ago." Callie's met a few people who have gone into the armed forces as a way of finding a new family after they get booted from foster care. JJ's voice stays soft and Callie strains to hear her. "She's a working mom, trying to do her best. She was like anybody, you know?"

Her husband raises his eyebrows knowingly. "Just like anybody or just like you?"

"I just kept wondering how…how she's doing it all alone." JJ replied in awe of any working mother really; they have the deck stacked against them but they push forward because they have to. "I don't know what I'd do without you and that wasn't even the hardest par; Francesca had a little brother."

Callie notices some similarities between Berto and Henry. As her mother's words register, Callie can't help but think that she and Henry would've been the perfect target for this guy. They are about the right ages and it would make sense. The thought alone makes her stomach lurch forward in part-pain and part-guilt. She always gives her mother such a hard time about her job…she doesn't even realize. Callie wonders if JJ picked up on this too. She reckons she did or else this wouldn't have affected her as much.

"Wow, I was hungrier than I thought." JJ admitted shocked, as she shovels in the final mouthful and wipes her lips with the napkin.

"When was the last time you ate?" Her husband sounds amused. But, in actuality, he's actually kind of concerned. Whenever JJ gets too trapped in her own head, she tends to forget about eating and their daughter is a similar kind of headache sometimes.

"I don't know, uh, this morning?"

Will chuckled. "You mean yesterday morning?" He leans against the counter beside his wife. "Well, least now, I know where Cal gets her crazy appetite. Do you want some more?"

"Um, no, thank you. I don't…I don't understand why your eggs are so good. I still can't make 'em like that." Their kids are all quick to tell her as much too, especially Henry. He's a firm believer in his mom being the Pancake Princess and his dad being the Egg Emperor.

"I told you; it's butter." Her husband said as JJ shakes her head.

JJ mocked, teasing him with a snicker. "It's the butter."

Her husband answered confidently. "It is the butter." He lands a light kiss to her lips, tasting a slight bit of butter from the eggs on her lips and chucking warmly.

"Oh man, remember when we used to have breakfast like this all the time?" JJ flashes back to when they had just started dating where they would wake up around noon on a Saturday and do whatever they wanted. These days they're either bouncing from soccer games to baseball games or in Michael's case, swimming. She loves it too, being with their kids and just relishing in their presence. The blonde peers at him with a smirk. "Just you and me," she said. JJ truly loves all of her children with all her heart, but sometimes those little monsters are the most tiring people she's ever met. Callie rolls her eyes as her parents continue to reminisce.

"A long time ago," Will agreed with a light grin. As much as he loved those days, he's loved every day since then even more; especially the days when they're all together. He glances at the monitor. "You know, he keeps asking for you. He keeps asking for my phone so, he can look at pictures."

"I miss so much." JJ whispered softly. Callie's face flashes in her mind. "It goes…it goes so fast too." She really does wish she could've raised Callie and seen her grow up; it's amazing they can be together now, but JJ wishes she could turn back the clock.

Will agreed. "I know." He starts to stand all while clearing the plates. "But, you and me both know you won't be happy unless you're on the job. Neither of us would. You stay here and let me have this, all right?"

"Yes sir."

"So, I'm assuming that you all issued another Amber Alert."

Callie listens wondering what could cause someone to want to hurt their family. She was always raised with the belief that you look after your own. Bug taught her that. A lot of the older kids in her group homes like Nadia showed her the importance of family being anywhere in the world. Hearing her mother tell about the fire, leads the teenager to wonder if she wants her mom doing this job anymore; it seems too scary. Whenever she tells her friends her mom is in the FBI, they think it's cool…but is it?

"They were alive?" JJ nods. "And you went in there, didn't you?" Will and Callie both get his answer by her silence, it's the same tactic Callie unknowingly portrays when she doesn't want to admit to something.

"You look mad." She can hear her mother say tersely. Callie is a bit mad herself, _how could her mom just run into that building knowing it wasn't safe?_ The teenager frowns suddenly realizing she did the exact same thing with Alex a few months ago. Shit. They really are similar.

Will tries to hold back his dismay and worry. "I'm not mad."

"I didn't think. I just reacted." JJ tries to reason this out herself, but she when Callie she took off on them to find Alex; her parents damn near killed her. But, the different between herself and Callie is…Callie's the kid.

"Our little girl does that too." Will murmured. "I know; it's okay." He meets her eye. "I'd have done the same thing if there were kids trapped in a burning building." Callie is stunned to hear her dad say that too. These people have kids. She sighs, wishing her parents had regular jobs like a plumber or an architect or something safe. "Don't mean I have to like hearing about you doing it, though." Her husband finishes putting the new gauges on her hand. "So I guess that's how you hurt yourself huh? Going in there."

"Yeah, but that happened later." JJ winces at the memory. Callie continues listening. "When we got there we could hear the kids screaming." The teenager does her best not to cringe. "But, then we heard this other voice."

"Another voice? Who else was in there?"

JJ said. "Trisha Bates, the unsub's sister."

Callie feels tears start to trickle down her cheeks as she hears her mother wrap it up. Well, the teenager likes to pretend her mom is invincible and nothing can ever really hurt her. But, she's wrong. Her mom almost died. She would have if she went to save Francesca and…she still feels guilty. Callie doesn't get it. JJ saved everyone she could. She did her best. At the sound of her mother's voice breaking, Callie bites her lip doing her best not to make a sound either.

"I couldn't let him be alone, so I sat with him until his mom got here." She hears her mother murmur quietly. "And then…I had to tell her what just happened." The sobbing is what got to JJ, hearing Renee sob will haunt her for a long time; especially after…this case is going to stay with her for a while.

"You spend a lot of time telling people, they can't blame themselves. So, maybe you ought to take your own advice. You saved that boy's life and a woman too." Will takes his wife's face.

"Yeah, what about Francesca?"

Her husband is quick to state. "That wasn't your fault."

"Oh, whose fault was it?" JJ questioned weakly, even though she already knows the answer.

"The unsub and now, because of you, he's never gonna be able to do that to anyone again." Will declared as his wife peers at him with a broken grimace it breaks his heart. He can't imagine why or how Jennifer Jareau got to thinking she carried the world on her shoulders.

"Now she's dead because I made a choice." The blonde exasperated causing Callie to squint; she doesn't know what her mom is talking about now. The way Callie sees it, JJ did what she had to…and Francesca dying was on the bad guy.

Will promised. "No, darling, that monster killed her."

"No, I chose Roberto. You want to know why? Because he reminded me of Henry, that's it. I didn't even realize it until later, you know?" JJ feels a soft, pained cry escape her lips. All three of her children mean the world to her; those kids are her hearts. "I love Callie. I love her so much it hurts." Callie murmurs quietly in accord as tears flow down her cheeks. "I didn't…I didn't see her in Francesca so I didn't think of her being Callie in that…but now…oh God, Will. I love all our kids. I love them all. I wouldn't even know how to choose one over the other. I didn't…I love her so much. She's the best part of me."

"Cher, we all know you love them the same." With that, he finally takes her in his arms and holds her tight. Will can't even imagine what must've been going through JJ's mind. If she thinks Callie doesn't know she loves then he's somehow messed up because Callie knows that and then some. "She knows. I promise yah she knows." A growing part of the girl wants to run out there and tell her mom that she agrees with dad, but she doesn't want to get into trouble.

JJ whispered. "She's my only little girl. I love her, Will. I love her so much." A thought erupts in the woman's head and she peers at her husband. "I didn't – maybe, if I went to Francesca first, I-I could have saved both of them. I shouldn't have sent Luke out. We could have saved all of them. I know that."

"Or maybe you'd all be dead." Will said causing Callie's eyes to widen fearfully. She couldn't imagine not having her mom around anymore. "JJ, you're gonna spin yourself like a top with the what-ifs. Now, you made a choice, the best choice you could and two people are alive because of it. You're a hero, Jennifer Jareau. You're my hero and our children's and your teams and all those other people that you saved and don't you ever forget that." He wraps his arms around her holding tight. "Come here, I got you."

The sound of Michael crying jolts Callie and her parents. The girl wipes her tears and swiftly scampers out of sight just as the adults leave the kitchen. Callie continues to brush away the salty tears feeling guilty for not doing more. Both her parents are…well they're superheroes and they do so much for everyone else and all she does is get in trouble and fucking complain. Tears blind her as Callie wipes them away while staring up at the ceiling…praying well hoping wherever Francesca is, she isn't mad.

"Why're you behind the couch, Cal-Cal?" Henry asked crouching down beside his sister. "Why are you sad? Did someone make you cry? Who was it? I'll make them tell you sorry." Anger begins to boil in the little brother as Callie shakes her head smiling.

"N-No, I was just…I had a bad dream is all. Don't worry about it, squirt." Callie lied as she pulls her brother into a tight hug and ruffles his short hair. He has his glasses on. He looks so much older with those frames, like a miniature hipster or something. "I think mom's home."

Henry's eyes brighten. "Really? Where?"

"Mikey's room," Callie replied hoping this will be a good distraction so she can compose herself.

The younger brother's eyes brighten and he starts to sprint upstairs, only to stop. "You know…if you have another bad dream. You could sleep in my bed. I'd make room for you." He vowed with those twinkling eyes that are somehow inherited by every child in their family. "Come on, let's see mommy." Callie follows him upstairs letting Henry sprint in first. He cheered. "Mommy, you're home."

Will drapes an arm around Callie pulling her into the fold. JJ smiles at his gesture, he really does love Callie like she was his own. "Hi you guys, how are you two?" JJ's eyes warm at the sight of her two beautiful older kids. She swears, they grow a little taller every time she sees them.

"Good, I missed you." Henry cuddles into his mother.

"Oh, my babies, I love you." JJ puts her free arm around him as Henry goes on his tippy-toes to tell Michael good morning. The mother chances a glance at her daughter and frowns at the sight of her daughter's tear-stained cheeks. "Are you okay, sweets?" She asked feeling worry seep into her bones as Will goes over to the girl with his own concern beginning to fester too.

Upon waiting the appropriate four seconds for his older sister to answer, Henry decides to tell them himself. "Callie had a bad dream." He informed earning a glare from Callie. "What?" He grumped at her. She rolls her eyes deliberately counting to ten and not socking him in the shoulder for tattling on her. At least, she has a brother to punch.

JJ pulls a disheartened, almost worrying face. "You did? Oh my poor baby." She shifts Michael in her arms to cup Callie's face with one hand all while stroking her cheek.

"Yeah, it's no biggie though. It was just a monster…but I'm okay now. Everything is okay now that you're home. I missed you." Callie responded surely as she hugs her mother. The girl then goes on to whisper softly. "I'm so glad you're home." JJ kisses the top of her head glancing in confusion at Will who shrugs, telling her to relish this brief moment of un-teenager behavior.

The rest of the day becomes a combination of a lazy-day and with Will leaving promptly after everyone gets up to start his Saturday shift. Due to Michael catching a bug like he did, he had to take a few days off work causing him to be called in on a Saturday. Will wishes he could spend this mini-vacation JJ's on with her. Although, they're already in the process of making plans to have a date. They'll call Garcia in to watch the kids as a way of relieving Callie of her newfound responsibilities – or at least, the responsibilities she takes on when JJ is away. Henry and Michael are plopped in front of the T.V. watching yet another episode of Paw Patrol.

Callie wanders into the kitchen watching while her mother is in the process of making her infamous pancakes. This is a treat for the Jareau-LaMontange brood solely because they're usually given fruit, healthy cereal, or oatmeal for their breakfast. However, both of her parents seem to be in good moods. "Hey mom, you need any help?" She asked as JJ spins around with an eager grin.

"I'd love your help, sweets." The mother really can't express how happy she is to see her kids, especially after such a gut-wrenching case.

"Henry likes chocolate chips on them." Callie said as she runs her hands under the tab.

"Just Henry?" JJ hums tickling her daughter as the girl goes to the fridge. "How would you like to go to the movies or out to dinner tonight, just you and me? We can make it a mom and daughter day." The mother asked, after hearing from Will about how Callie was such a big helper this week; she feels kind of guilty and Will does too.

Callie decides to ask a question she already knows the answer to. "Don't you have work?"

"N-No, I'm taking some time off." JJ responded carefully. There's was something about Callie's tone that seemed off or maybe, she's just reading into it too much.

"Why?" For a brief moment, Callie wonders if her mother is going to tell her the truth.

"Because, I have some vacation days saved up." JJ goes with the evasive truth. Callie tilts her head to the side and studies her mother shrugging. The mother added. "I heard a rumor you were a huge help while I was gone and I'm really proud of you."

The teenager's cheeks turn pink. She shrugs. "Oh, that's no big deal." Callie understands now why her mom and dad don't want to talk about their cases. She got it before, but now, everything is much clearer.

"I think it is. You really stepped up while I was away. I know it couldn't have been easy on you with me gone for a little longer than usual this time." The profiler commented reaching over to play with her daughter's wild blonde curls.

"I don't mind helping." Callie shrugged before adding with a cheeky glint. "If you really wanted to bribe me, you could buy me a car."

"That's real cute, honey." JJ pats her cheek. "How do you feel about sushi?" The mother asked as Callie raises her eyebrows as though asking why she can't have a car. Belle got one and she doesn't even have her learner's permit yet. In hind sight, neither does Callie, but still. Having a car would be nice. "Maybe, someday if your dad and I feel like you're responsible enough to have a car of your own, we'll maybe pay for half…maybe. But, you have ten months before you're even going to be behind the wheel." _Thank God she had Callie about a month past her due date_ , JJ thought to herself.

Callie nods. "Do you think dad would wanna teach me?"

"I think he'd love to teach you." JJ knows for a fact her husband would be over the moon with them even talking about this. "I'd like to teach you too." The parent added. She recalls her parents teaching herself, Danny, and Ross to drive. JJ had been about seven when Danny learned and ten when Ross learned.

"Mom…I love you." Callie said with such feeling that it causes JJ to almost drop the bowl she's holding over the frying pan. The mom recovers and puts the bowl down with a smirk.

JJ rolls her eyes and decides to be playful. "Yeah, well don't go searching for cars okay? This is a maybe kind of thing; cars are expensive."

"No, it's not even about that. I just love you." Callie said, recognizing for the first time that she is actually happy everything went down in court like it did. Despite getting into fights with her parents sometimes, she understands now why they do what they do and why they're so annoyingly protective. They just want to keep her safe.

"Right back at you, kiddo," JJ smirked as Callie smiles sweetly at her. The mother frowns down at her daughter, curious and amused all at once. "Okay, sweets, what'd you do?" She groaned at the thought of having to ground her seemingly well-behaved teenager.

Callie shakes her head. "Nothing, I haven't done anything yet."

JJ nods and then blinks at a realization. "Why are you saying yet like you have something planned for the future?"

"I like to cover my bases." Her daughter said sounding a bit like Ross. JJ knows she was never this wild growing up and from what she recalls Robert wasn't a hell raiser either. The craziest thing he did was date her. "What? Can't I say 'I love you' without it meaning that I did something bad? I mean, come on, you're going to give me a complex or something."

They have to stop letting Callie sift through Reid's psychology textbooks. "I love you honey but I know you and I know…you must be buttering me up for something So, what'd you do? Please, tell me you didn't egg April and Jared's house again."

"You can't prove that was me." Callie repeated the same argument she had when everyone learned about what happened and almost immediately they all blamed her. JJ remembers Savannah and well mostly Garcia bursting into an intense giggle-fit, even Hotch seemed rightfully amused by her legal argument.

"And you can't prove it wasn't."

"Yeah well–" Callie stops short. She doesn't want to fight with her, especially after what she heard last night and the kind of work JJ really does. "I love you mom, that's it." Hopping down from the stool, Callie walks over to her mother, hugging her. There have only been a handful of times when Callie initiated the contact, more often than not her parents are the ones cuddling her. JJ easily accepts the hug, her thoughts drifting to Renee Morales and the fact that she can no longer hug her daughter like this. The mother's grip on Callie tightens as she blinks back the tears that threaten to fall. "Uh momma?"

JJ blinks again, "what's up, my love."

"Two things," the girl swallows. A part of her doesn't want to let go either. "First, you're choking me and second, the pancakes are burning."

"Sorry, I'm sorry." JJ reluctantly detaches herself and flips the pancake over revealing a dark brown, basically blackened top. "You just…you are one of the three best things in my life."

For a moment, Callie is stunned into silence and JJ is worried she's scared the kid. Suddenly a grin dimples the fifteen year olds cheeks. "It's all good. Hey, let's give the burnt ones to Henry."


End file.
